BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Air Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials of his Department travelled economy class by aeroplane in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year.

Jo Swinson: The number of economy class flights taken by BIS staff (including UKTI) and the costs for these journeys are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of flights Total cost (£) 
			 2009/10 2,252 398,823 
			 2010/11 2,278 641,742 
			 2011/12 2,641 815,992 
		
	
	Data for prior years is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Air Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials of his Department travelled first class by aeroplane in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2008-09; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year.

Jo Swinson: The number of first class flights taken by BIS staff (including UKTI) and the costs of these journeys are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of flights Total cost (£) 
			 2009/10 76 143,479 
			 2010/11 1 3,591 
			 2011/12 4 10,081 
		
	
	Data for prior years is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Air Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials of his Department travelled business class by aeroplane in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and what the total cost was in each year.

Jo Swinson: The number of business class flights taken by BIS staff (including UKTI) and the costs for these journeys are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of flights Total cost (£) 
			 2009/10 1,742 2,381,601 
			 2010/11 494 1,152,991 
			 2011/12 572 1,383,060 
		
	
	Data for prior years is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Responsibilities

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the full responsibilities of the new Minister for Trade will be; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: This is a matter for the Prime Minister.

Post Offices

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the safety of personnel of downgrading local Post Office counter security from Fortress Counter level to open plan desks.

Jo Swinson: An assessment of the suitability of branches will be undertaken by Post Office Ltd before converting any branch to either the new Main or Local operating model which typically sees post office services offered within an open plan format. This is a model which is already working well in the many branches within the Post Office network, and is a significant customer service improvement over the more impersonal, screened fortress counters found in traditional branches.
	Independent research is showing higher levels of customer satisfaction at branches operating the new models compared to traditional branches.
	A fortress position can be retained where an assessment suggests that a branch is in a high risk area, or if a subpostmaster requests it be kept.

Post Offices

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the potential cost of retraining Post Office staff in order to undertake roles in marketing or retail of commercial, business and new financial services.

Jo Swinson: Matters relating to Post Office employees are an operational matter for the company. The Government, as shareholder, plays no role in these matters. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, Chief Executive of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely change in revenue for Post Office Ltd as a result of separating from Royal Mail; and what support his Department plans to provide to post offices which cannot achieve the volume of sales of commercial, business or new financial services necessary to provide their current service level.

Jo Swinson: Prior to the separation of Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail in April 2012, the Chief Executive of Royal Mail told Parliament that it was "unthinkable" that the two companies would not always have a close relationship. In January 2012, the two companies signed a long-term inter-business agreement. This agreement ensures that Royal Mail products and services, which account for around a third of Post Office Ltd's revenues, will continue to be available at post office branches. The Government, as shareholder in the respective companies, played no role in these commercial negotiations.
	Alongside this the Government is providing £1.34 billion to maintain and modernise the Post Office network, making it a stronger partner for the Royal Mail. The ongoing Network Transformation programme is seeing post offices offering customers greater access to services through significantly longer opening hours in much improved retail environments. This is enabling Post Office Ltd to pursue a growth strategy, and the 2011-12 financial year saw revenues grow for the first time in many years.
	Additionally, in its 2010 Policy Statement, this Government was clear that there will remain a need for an element of public subsidy in the future to maintain those branches which could never be profitable, such as those in remote rural areas, but which provide a valuable social purpose.

Post Offices: Glasgow

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of sub-postmasters in (a) Glasgow and (b) Glasgow South West constituency likely to take up compensated exit from the network as a result of the Network Change Programme.

Jo Swinson: Network Change was a post office closure programme funded by the Labour Government between 2007 and 2009, which saw the mandatory closure of around 2,500 post offices.
	This coalition Government is investing £1.34 billion to maintain the post office network at its current size with no programme of closures, and to provide for the modernisation and improvement of up to 6,000 post offices under the Network Transformation programme. Network Transformation started in October 2012 and offers subpostmasters the choice of converting their branches to new operating models, leaving the network with compensation if a replacement subpostmaster has been identified to continue access to services, or to stay as they are.
	How subpostmasters in Glasgow or Glasgow South West in particular choose to participate in the Network Transformation is a personal decision for them. At the end of June 2013, six post offices in Glasgow had converted to the new operating models, of which one, Govan Post Office, is in Glasgow South West constituency. Independent research shows customer satisfaction with the new models is well above 90%, higher than for traditional post offices.

Rail Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials in his Department travelled business class by train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Jo Swinson: There were no business class rail journeys made by BIS staff (including UKTI) during 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The rail journeys made during this time were either at first or standard (economy) class.

Rail Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials in his Department travelled by economy class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Jo Swinson: The number of standard (economy) class rail journeys taken by BIS staff and the costs for these journeys are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of journeys Total cost (£) 
			 2009/10 21,870 1,698,579 
			 2010/11 19,186 1,757,341 
			 2011/12 18,049 1,258,693

Rail Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials in his Department travelled by first class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year.

Jo Swinson: The number of first class rail journeys taken by BIS staff (including UKTI) and the costs for these journeys are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of journeys Total cost (£) 
			 2009/10 1,970 387,949 
			 2010/11 1,265 171,773 
			 2011/12 568 53,195 
		
	
	For ease, the data has been provided in financial years as this mirrors the recording of all corporate travel and hotel use. Data for prior years is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if (a) his Department and (b) the Certification Officer will make an assessment of the probity and appropriateness of trades unions purchasing political party memberships from political fund revenues (i) with and (ii) without the consent of the trades union members who are joined up.

Jo Swinson: The Certification Officer has certain statutory powers in relation to trade union political funds. These statutory powers extend to approving trade union political fund rules that must contain certain elements such as separate political funds and the ability for members to opt out of paying into the trade union's political fund. He can also determine complaints about ballots for establishing or renewing a political resolution.
	The effect of the legislation contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is to ensure payments for certain specified political objectives can only be made from the political funds of a union as established in accordance with that legislation. The manner in which those funds are spent is a matter for the trade union's rules and the Certification Officer has no direct role in relation to the appropriateness or probity of such payments.

Trade Unions: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Certification Officer has produced on how trade unions may (i) spend monies from political funds and (ii) purchase memberships of political parties from political funds.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has produced a guide called ‘Trade union political funds: a guide for trade unions, their members and others’. The guide is available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/employment-matters/docs/10-817-trade-union-political-funds-guide.pdf
	The Certification Officer has produced a guide called ‘Political funds: guidance for trade unions and employers’ associations wishing to establish a political fund’. The guide is available at:
	http://www.certoffice.org/CertificationOfficer/files/48/48158bbc-23a4-4032-abdf-87d56040af28.pdf
	Both guides deal with the statutory provisions relating to the spending of trade union and employers' associations funds for political objectives. However, the manner in which those funds are spent is a matter for the trade union's rules.

Unite

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints the Certification Officer has received in relation to the Unite trade union in each of the last five years; and what the outcome was in each case.

Jo Swinson: The number of complaints the Certification Office (CO) has received, and the outcome of the CO's investigation in each case, in relation to the Unite trade union in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 As at 31 March: Complaint Substance of complaint Outcome Total 
			 2009 Simms v. Unite Breach of rule by unreasonably excluding her from standing in its National Executive Committee election. Dismissed 4 
			  Hicks v. Unite Breach of section 46(1) of TULRCA, relating to the holding of office of the Joint General Secretary of Unite, Withdrawn and Dismissed  
			  Finlay v. Unite Breach of rules in relation to the management of his branch of the union. Dismissed  
			  McGinnes v. Unite Breach of rule in relation to the union's disciplinary procedures. Struck out  
			      
			 2010 Harrison v. Unite Breach of TULRCA and rules in relation to the elections of the First Executive Council of Unite Dismissed 3 
			  Fleming-Clooney v. Unite Breach of rule in relation to the union's First Executive Council amending the union's rules outside its powers to do so. Dismissed  
			  Lyons v. Unite Breach of section 52(2) and 48(6) of TULRCA and breach of rule in relation to the election of the Joint General Secretary of Unite. No breach of statute but breach of union rule. Declaration issued/no enforcement order.  
			      
			 2011 Parkhill v. Unite Breach of rule. Union had allegedly made payment to its political fund a condition of membership. Dismissed 3 
			  Owen v. Unite Breaches of rule in relation to alleged disciplinary proceedings against him by the union. Dismissed  
			  Kruger v. Unite Breach of rule in relation to the election of an Operating Convenor to the London Advisory Committee. Dismissed  
			      
			 2012 Hutchinson v. Unite Complaint relating to political fund contribution. Struck out on the grounds that the complaint had no reasonable prospect of success or is otherwise misconceived. Struck out 2 
			  Beaumont and Smith v. Unite Breach of section 47(1) of TULRCA and of its rules in excluding them from eligibility to stand in 2011 National Executive Committee elections Dismissed  
			      
		
	
	
		
			 2013 Vowles v. Unite Breach of rules in relation to disciplinary procedures Dismissed 1 
		
	
	Information on the above complaints is publically available on the Certification Officer's website at:
	http://www.certoffice.org/Nav/Decisions.aspx

Unite

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value was of the political fund of the Unite trade union in each of the last five years according to records held by the Certification Officer.

Jo Swinson: The value of the political fund of the Unite trade union in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 Year ending Value of Unite political fund (£) 
			 2008 2,989,000 
			 2009 4,484,000 
			 2010 3,020,000 
			 2011 5,489,000 
			 2012 9,339,000 
		
	
	Figures on trade union political funds are available in the annual reports published by the Certification Officer at:
	http://www.certoffice.org/Publications/Annual-Reports.aspx

Unite

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what investigations the Certification Officer has undertaken in relation to the Unite trade union in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today to parliamentary question 165772.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department follows in determining whether statistics in answers to parliamentary questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a link to a website and (c) deposited in the Library.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W, which refers to guidance available to officials when providing links to websites in answers to parliamentary questions
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61205/guide_to_parliamentary_work.pdf

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abu Qatada

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on legal fees in respect of the removal of Abu Qatada in each year since the case commenced.

James Brokenshire: The following table sets out the Home Office's expenditure on legal fees in respect of the Abu Qatada deportation case, year on year since the current immigration proceedings began in 2005.
	
		
			  Expenditure (£) 
			 2005 11,202 
			 2006 164,645 
			 2007 32,646 
			 2008 241,418 
			 2009 97,713 
			 2010 64,472 
			 2011 7232 
			 2012 333,372 
			 2013 (to May) 115,948 
			 Total 1,068,648

Accountancy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst and Young, in each year since financial year 2008-09, is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Expenditure (£000) 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Deloitte 20,115 27,713 7,325 675 788 
			 Ernst & Young 16,462 39,025 26,618 18,068 12,754 
			 KPMG 16,240 18,239 8,623 5,516 2,109 
			 PwC 899 275 2,803 2,473 321

Ammunition

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to work with her European counterparts on tackling illicit manufacture and trafficking of ammunition.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office and operational law enforcement partners are actively participating in the recently agreed EU organised crime priorities, which include the illicit trafficking of firearms and component parts (such as ammunition). The National Ballistic Intelligence Service (NABIS) and other law enforcement agencies from the UK (such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and United Kingdom Border Force (UKBF)) also regularly liaise with European partners, including Europol, exchanging information and intelligence on ballistics, as necessary.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many apprenticeships her Department offered to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 June 2013, Official Report, column 162W.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what strategies she has to create apprenticeships in her Department; and what plans she has to promote such strategies.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's apprenticeship scheme has been in operation since 2008 and the Department currently has seven apprentices recruited externally through this route.
	Apprenticeships are also available to existing staff through Learning and Development provision.

Asylum

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the operational differences between the Older Live Cases Unit and its predecessor the Case Assurance and Audit Unit are; and what the reasons are for such differences.

Mark Harper: holding answer 11 July 2013
	The Case Assurance and Audit Unit was established in April 2011 to deal with the ongoing management of legacy migration and asylum cases.
	In 2013, the name of the Case Assurance and Audit Unit was changed to the Older Live Cases Unit, the new name more accurately describes the remit to deal with the remaining legacy cases. The Older Live Cases Unit still has the same operational responsibility for dealing with the older unresolved asylum cases, where the initial asylum claim was lodged before March 2007, and for the older migration cases.

Asylum: Finance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the administrative cost is of running section 4 support to failed asylum applicants;
	(2)  what the administrative cost was of running section 95 support to asylum applicants in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The information required is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many counter-terrorism intelligence officers have been funded through the Prevent strategy in each of the last five years; and how many such officers served in the Metropolitan Police Force.

James Brokenshire: The Prevent programme ceased all future funding of counter-terrorism intelligence officers from the beginning of the 2011-12 financial year. Counter-terrorism intelligence officers are now funded by the main Police CT Grant. The number of counter-terrorism intelligence officers is not held centrally.
	Of the 321 new dedicated Prevent police officers in 2008, 80 were counter-terrorism intelligence officers, 67 of whom were funded by the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism, distributed across 42 forces.
	Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the overall reduction in crime since May 2010.

Jeremy Browne: Police recorded crime has fallen by 13% under this Government, and the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows crime at its lowest level since the survey began in 1981.

Crime

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) total number of recorded crimes, (b) number of offences in the category of detected (sanction) and (c) sanction detection rate was by (i) police force area and (ii) London borough in (A) 2009-10, (B) 2010-11, (C) 2011-12 and (D) 2012-13.

Jeremy Browne: The available information is given in the tables. Data for 2012-13 will be published on 18 July 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Offences recorded and sanction detections by police force area 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Police force area No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) 
			 Avon and Somerset 125,899 32,735 26 119,122 35,729 30 115,186 35,038 30 
		
	
	
		
			 Bedfordshire 42,048 10,748 26 43,617 10,128 23 40,795 9,799 24 
			 British Transport Police 60,074 20,977 35 58,326 18,690 32 52,938 16,734 32 
			 Cambridgeshire 60,017 16,074 27 56,527 16,938 30 51,658 14,812 29 
			 Cheshire 67,056 18,655 28 63,729 17,895 28 59,829 15,456 26 
			 Cleveland 47,252 18,803 40 43,018 16,912 39 43,535 16,410 38 
			 Cumbria 28,234 11,182 40 26,988 10,849 40 26,071 10,211 39 
			 Derbyshire 68,005 15,435 23 65,884 16,736 25 61,483 16,686 27 
			 Devon and Cornwall 92,704 28,059 30 86,689 28,718 33 91,808 25,450 28 
			 Dorset 48,237 11,423 24 46,300 10,371 22 45,148 9,813 22 
			 Durham 40,295 13,427 33 36,517 14,623 40 35,331 13,261 38 
			 Dyfed-Powys 22,377 10,659 48 21,728 10,673 49 21,163 10,498 50 
			 Essex 104,796 35,114 34 103,445 30,597 30 105,077 28,073 27 
			 Gloucestershire 38,270 11,499 30 36,044 8,444 23 34,602 7,072 20 
			 Greater Manchester 246,117 60,869 25 227,838 62,490 27 207,523 56,652 27 
			 Gwent 50,842 13,225 26 45,593 13,652 30 38,879 13,879 36 
			 Hampshire 142,261 38,814 27 133,500 37,243 28 129,269 35,960 28 
			 Hertfordshire 70,001 24,504 35 66,441 23,106 35 62,251 21,627 35 
			 Humberside 80,663 22,472 28 76,161 21,464 28 72,017 21,786 30 
			 Kent 106,558 35,582 33 105,638 33,236 31 101,793 32,576 32 
			 Lancashire 107,361 37,863 35 102,503 37,841 37 99,075 36,360 37 
			 Leicestershire 81,244 18,608 23 71,355 17,909 25 68,242 16,601 24 
			 Lincolnshire 46,927 11,223 24 44,992 11,285 25 44,164 11,710 27 
			 London, City of 6,532 2,355 36 6,374 2,471 39 6,119 2,248 37 
			 Merseyside 107,730 41,892 39 100,113 37,579 38 96,561 31,327 32 
			 Metropolitan Police 829,433 202,059 24 823,414 193,524 24 814,625 175,839 22 
			 Norfolk 44,692 14,999 34 43,222 14,293 33 42,154 13,890 33 
			 Northamptonshire 55,168 13,292 24 49,288 12,999 26 49,571 11,159 23 
			 Northumbria 89,700 35,513 40 82,299 33,766 41 75,396 32,695 43 
			 North Wales 44,919 18,527 41 41,865 14,885 36 43,214 13,425 31 
			 North Yorkshire 42,197 13,268 31 42,464 13,258 31 38,716 12,432 32 
			 Nottinghamshire 98,319 25,300 26 84,263 27,298 32 77,421 25,655 33 
			 South Wales 103,253 31,429 30 93,788 30,157 32 87,349 28,700 33 
			 South Yorkshire 112,869 34,917 31 102,741 30,037 29 100,852 27,752 28 
			 Staffordshire 76,137 17,165 23 70,890 18,511 26 65,680 19,061 29 
			 Suffolk 46,447 13,802 30 46,357 11,960 26 45,641 11,305 25 
			 Surrey 64,329 13,427 21 65,124 13,169 20 61,757 12,619 20 
			 Sussex 101,200 29,468 29 97,134 28,938 30 96,546 24,844 26 
			 Thames Valley 185,529 37,665 20 172,422 39,901 23 149,806 36,435 24 
			 Warwickshire 33,828 8,095 24 32,827 7,457 23 33,861 6,042 18 
			 West Mercia 71,152 19,259 27 72,142 17,582 24 69,582 17,394 25 
			 West Midlands 211,399 51,155 24 215,350 42,458 20 193,532 42,215 22 
			 West Yorkshire 197,553 53,337 27 189,388 47,691 25 184,085 45,612 25 
			 Wiltshire 38,671 11,496 30 37,496 9,558 25 36,046 8,793 24 
			 Total 4,338,295 1,206,370 28 4,150,916 1,153,021 28 3,976,351 1,075,906 27 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Offences recorded and sanction detections by London borough 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 London borough No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) No. of offences recorded No. of sanction detections Sanction detection rate (%) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 19,846 4,024 20 19,177 3,898 20 18,825 3,702 20 
			 Barnet 26,273 6,397 24 25,706 5,664 22 26,281 4,608 18 
			 Bexley 15,455 3,665 24 13,754 3,606 26 12,168 2,964 24 
			 Brent 29,051 6,792 23 29,498 8,441 29 31,592 9,695 31 
			 Bromley 23,783 5,652 24 22,029 5,051 23 21,902 4,472 20 
		
	
	
		
			 Camden 33,778 8,423 25 34,229 7,145 21 35,799 6,988 20 
			 City of Westminster 64,005 15,446 24 64,063 16,053 25 66,315 15,334 23 
			 Croydon 33,210 7,751 23 32,288 6,725 21 32,775 7,045 21 
			 Ealing 33,660 7,158 21 35,037 7,493 21 32,575 6,543 20 
			 Enfield 24,454 5,028 21 23,654 5,557 23 22,928 4,584 20 
			 Greenwich 25,625 6,359 25 24,147 5,658 23 22,415 5,102 23 
			 Hackney 28,727 7,961 28 28,035 6,987 25 27,902 6,402 23 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 22,866 6,320 28 24,176 6,289 26 23,426 5,795 25 
			 Haringey 25,744 6,075 24 24,604 5,547 23 25,911 5,302 20 
			 Harrow 15,395 3,642 24 14,967 3,570 24 14,169 2,709 19 
			 Havering 17,152 4,281 25 17,584 4,395 25 17,302 4,067 24 
			 Heathrow 3,283 1,019 31 2,952 895 30 3,079 1,017 33 
			 Hillingdon 24,166 5,043 21 23,560 5,355 23 23,937 5,183 22 
			 Hounslow 23,144 5,741 25 23,852 6,054 25 24,768 5,523 22 
			 Islington 28,428 7,025 25 28,124 6,033 21 27,025 5,336 20 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 20,884 5,993 29 21,184 5,496 26 20,766 4,585 22 
			 Kingston upon Thames 11,013 2,752 25 11,150 2,570 23 11,232 2,492 22 
			 Lambeth 35,468 8,415 24 35,706 7,659 21 36,993 7,078 19 
			 Lewisham 29,554 7,572 26 28,888 6,726 23 27,172 5,485 20 
			 Merton 14,839 3,591 24 14,735 3,632 25 14,157 3,114 22 
			 Newham 34,260 8,126 24 34,373 8,215 24 32,011 6,626 21 
			 Redbridge 24,035 6,398 27 24,530 5,979 24 24,257 5,743 24 
			 Richmond upon Thames 11,530 3,075 27 11,749 2,785 24 12,012 2,328 19 
			 Southwark 37,046 10,158 27 36,273 9,664 27 34,475 7,110 21 
			 Sutton 13,032 3,219 25 12,417 2,950 24 11,736 2,734 23 
			 Tower Hamlets 26,989 7,415 27 28,668 6,874 24 29,452 7,071 24 
			 Waltham Forest 27,270 6,135 22 27,551 5,347 19 24,876 4,397 18 
			 Wandsworth 25,468 5,408 21 24,754 5,211 21 24,392 4,705 19 
			 Total 829,433 202,059 24 823,414 193,524 24 814,625 175,839 22

Criminal Proceedings

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken was from arrest to charge in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Browne: The requested information is not collected centrally.

Emergency Services

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the role of the EU training co-ordinator in relation to emergency services is; and if she will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The European Union Civil Protection. Mechanism and associated Financial Instrument enable a programme of twelve training courses to prepare personnel for roles in assessment or coordination teams as part of EU civil protection missions.
	Each participating state has a national training coordinator who is responsible for identifying and managing the national system of experts enrolled in the EU training programme and nominating trained experts for EU missions and exercises.
	The Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, as the UK's national contact point for EU civil protection fulfils the national training coordinator role, working closely with other Government Departments and the emergency services to identify and nominate potentially suitable candidates. Last year some 40 UK experts participated in such courses, most of whom were drawn from the emergency services.

Entry Clearances

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will exempt visa applicants who have previously undertaken study at a UK university from the pilot studies into the requirement for cash bonds for immigration purposes;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of a cash bond for immigration purposes on non-EU PhD candidates studying at UK universities who use student visitor visas to return for viva voce examinations;
	(3)  if applications for student visitor visas will be included in pilot schemes on a requirement for a cash bond for visa applications.

Mark Harper: We plan to introduce a pilot scheme later this year to test the impact of requiring financial bonds in limited circumstances, from a minority of visitors from selected nationalities who present a high risk of overstaying. The details of the scheme are still being finalised and will be announced in due course.

Grant Thornton

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's expenditure on contracts with Grant Thornton, in each year since financial year 2008-09, is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Grant Thornton 
			  Expenditure (£) 
			 2008-09 22,000 
			 2009-10 82,000 
			 2010-11 49,000 
			 2011-12 59,000 
			 2012-13 7,000 
			 2013-14 75,600

Hezbollah

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of Hezbollah activity within the UK.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), cannot comment on intelligence assessments.

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were made after raids by immigration enforcement officers in each year since 2008; and for what reasons each such complaint was made.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 July 2013
	Information relating to complaints that are made after raids by Immigration Enforcement officers is not centrally recorded. This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the restaurants raided in 2012 by enforcement officers primarily sold (a) Indian, (b) Italian, (c) Chinese, (d) British and (e) other food.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 July 2013
	Records indicate that between January and December 2012, the Home Office carried out 2,659 enforcement visits to premises identified as restaurants.
	The Home Office does not collate information centrally on the type of restaurant visited, nor the type of food sold at the premises.
	Note:
	All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal workers were (a) identified, (b) arrested, (c) charged and (d) deported as a result of enforcement raids on restaurants in each year since 2008.

Mark Harper: The Home Office carries out enforcement visits to a variety of premises for the purpose of tackling illegal working. Data concerning the number of individuals found in the course of such enforcement visits is given in the following table in respect of premises identified as restaurants. The table shows the number of individuals encountered and arrested in the course of such visits. The table also shows the number of these individuals who are recorded as having subsequently left the UK.
	For immigration purposes the number of individuals who have been charged is synonymous with the number of individuals arrested since the service of papers for immigration offences normally takes place during the course of an individual's arrest.
	
		
			  Number of individuals encountered Number of individuals arrested Individuals subsequently removed 
			 2008 6,637 2,079 662 
			 2009 5,462 1,701 540 
			 2010 7,112 2,051 733 
			 2011 6,953 2,051 881 
			 2012 6,907 2,351 932 
			 (Q1) 2013 2,180 651 225 
			 Note: All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Motorways: Driving Offences

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department plans to issue on the enforcement of new penalty notices for misuse of the middle lane on motorways.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not plan to issue any guidance. Enforcement of the law is an operational matter for the police.

Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she has met the (a) Northern Ireland Justice Minister and (b) Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland since May 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-oct-2012-to-dec-2012

Offenders: Deportation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional foreign national criminals have been deported from the UK as a result of Operation Nexus.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 July 2013
	Since Operation Nexus was established in October 2012 we have successful removed or deported over 700 foreign nationals following identification by the Metropolitan police, or who have passed through a police custody suite in London.
	We have successfully removed over 30 Foreign national offenders who have served a criminal sentence longer than 12 months.
	Note:
	This is internal management information. It is provisional and is subject to change and has not been subject to validation as part of national statistics.

Police: Job Satisfaction

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to improve morale in the police.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 July 2013
	This Government's reforms add up to the most radical overhaul to the policing landscape in 50 years. By removing targets, reducing bureaucracy and increasing discretion we are empowering officers to fulfil their primary role which is fighting crime.
	I, along with other Ministers and officials, maintain regular contact with police forces and officers so that their role in reducing crime receives recognition. Crime is falling and our reforms are working.

Police: Recruitment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 394W, on police: recruitment, if she will monitor the impact of the introduction of the Certificate in Knowledge of Policing on recruitment from Black and ethnic minority communities.

Damian Green: From September 2013, providers of the Certificate in Knowledge of Policing will be required to provide data every six months on the diversity profile of the candidates, specifically including the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the equality impact of her Department's spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform her planning ahead of the 2013 comprehensive spending review and with what result; what plans she has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by her Department as a result of the upcoming comprehensive spending review; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office completed an equality impact assessment at spending review 2010 prior to final decisions being taken on how savings would be delivered. Since the spending review 2010 the Home Office has continued to undertake equality impact assessments to inform ministerial policy decisions.

Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior civil servants left her Department and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was.

James Brokenshire: The following table provides the number of senior civil servants and senior officials that left the Home Office and its public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment, and the value of such payments in each of the last three years.
	
		
			  Number of staff Value of payments (£) 
			 2010-11 27 1,358,187 
			 2011-12 20 2,285,659 
			 2012-13 20 2,201,315 
		
	
	Departure costs are paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972.
	The Civil Service Compensation Scheme was reformed in December 2010. Under the previous terms, there could be costs extending for up to 10 years from a departure while under the reformed scheme all of the costs fall within the year of departure. The reformed scheme allows for greater distinction between voluntary and compulsory exits and is designed to encourage voluntary rather than compulsory departures.

South Yorkshire Police

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps is she taking to ensure the Independent Police Complaints Commission has the necessary powers and resources to conduct a robust examination of police tactics at Orgreave coke works during the 1984-85 Miners' Strike.

Damian Green: We have legislated in the Police (Complaints and Conduct) Act 2012 to give the Independent Police Complaints Commission additional powers to enable it, in exceptional circumstances, to investigate matters which were previously outside its jurisdiction.

South Yorkshire Police

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will open an independent public enquiry into the conduct of the police at Orgreave coke works during the 1984-85 Miners' Strike.

Damian Green: Referrals in relation to this matter are currently under assessment by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It would be premature to decide the nature of any further investigation necessary at this stage.

Treaties: Jordan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she expects the mutual assistance treaty with Jordan to be ratified by the Jordanian Parliament;
	(2)  when she expects the Mutual Assistance Treaty with Jordan to be ratified by the UK Parliament.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 16 May 2013
	The treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan entered into force on 1 July 2013 after an exchange of notes verbales by the British and Jordanian Governments confirming the completion of procedures in both countries.
	As the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), said in her statement to the House on 8 July 2013, Official Report, columns 23-35, the treaty paved the way for Qatada's lawful deportation on 7 July 2013.

UK Border Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the failure of UK Border Agency contingency plans to deal with increased workloads.

Mark Harper: holding answer 11 July 2013
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), on 26 March 2013, Official Report, column 1500.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what strategies he has to create apprenticeships in his Department; and what plans he has to promote such strategies.

Mark Hoban: DWP actively promotes internal apprenticeships. Since 2010, we have run schemes for over 400 young long-term unemployed people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This opportunity, to experience work and obtain a qualification, increases their potential to gain permanent employment. Apprentices are taken on at Administrative Officer grade for a fixed 12 month contract. These placements are offered to unemployed people by their personal advisers in Jobcentres, who select potential candidates from their caseload.
	In addition to the DWP apprenticeship offering, DWP is supporting the civil service wide apprenticeship scheme. This is sponsored by the Cabinet Office and offers permanent roles at Executive Officer grade—the first intake of these apprentices will take place this September and DWP is offering 27 places.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) he and (b) officials in his Department spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), and his ministerial team incurred no expenditure preparing for appearances before select committees or for contact with the media in either 2011-12 or 2012-13.
	It is not possible to establish how much was spent to prepare for appearances before select committees. Expenditure for media training for officials was £6,144 during 2011-12 and £30,855.25 during 2012-13 and this could include preparation for appearances before select committees.
	During the period from 27 July 2009 to 26 July 2012 the Department had a contract with Sara Jones Associates Ltd to provide media training. Since then Civil Service Learning has provided media training as part of its core curriculum. The figures quoted represent departmental expenditure via those routes.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Mark Hoban: The Department is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all staff and to ensuring that equality is built into the services it provides to the 22 million benefit customers we support every year. We employ over 100,000 staff and aim to have a work force which reflects our wide customer base and the diverse communities in which we work. Every person working for the Department has a personal responsibility for implementing and promoting our diversity and equality principles.
	The Department has a central diversity and equality team whose role is to ensure compliance with all equality legislation and actively to promote equality and diversity in the development of policies, services, and in the treatment of staff. In addition, staff from across the Department have the opportunity to be involved in national and local staff network Equality Groups which promote diversity awareness.
	Information requested for staff in the central team is in the following table, and represents some £8 per member of staff per year. Information on the number of other staff in the Department working on equality and diversity cannot be disaggregated from their wider duties and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on the costs of promoting equality and diversity outside the central team is not held centrally and could also be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Figures for the central diversity and equality team 
			 £ 
			 As at March each year: Total Staff costs Headcount (FTE) 
			 2012-13 827,455 794,034 16.29 
			 2011-12 855,715 777,811 14.29 
			 2010-11 966,231 898,461 14.02 
			 FTE = Full-time equivalent

Jobseeker's Allowance: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in Ashfield constituency (a) received a sanction and (b) received a sanction and disputed it in each of the last five years; and how many such claimants had a sanction overturned as a result of it being reconsidered or appealed.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on the number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance in Ashfield constituency (a) received a sanction and (b) received a sanction and disputed it in each of the last five years; and how many such claimants had a sanction overturned as a result of it being reconsidered or appealed are given in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants with a sanction applied by area and year(2): 1 January 2008 to 31 May 2012, area: Ashfield parliamentary constituency(3) 
			  Year(2) 
			 Action(4) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Sanction applied 520 950 1,130 1,150 510 
		
	
	
		
			 Number(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) sanctioned claimants who asked for reconsideration or appealed the original decision by area and year(2):1 January 2008 to 31 May 2012, area: Ashfield parliamentary constituency(3) 
			  Year(2) 
			 Action(4) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Reconsidered 70 90 170 230 60 
			 Appealed 10 30 50 80 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Number1(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) sanctioned claimants where the original decision was overturned on reconsideration or appeal by area and year(2): 1 January 2008 to 31 May 2012, area: Ashfield parliamentary constituency(3) 
			  Year(2) 
			 Action(4) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Overturned—Reconsideration 30 40 90 130 30 
			 Overturned—Appeal * * 10 10 * 
			 "*" = Denotes nil or negligible. (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and will include individuals who have had more than one referral decision or the same decision in more than one year e.g. if an individual has a sanction applied and has also appealed a sanction then they will appear twice. (2)Year of Decision: The year in which the decision on the sanction referral, reconsideration or appeal was made. The year 2012 only includes data up to and including the 31st of May, which this is the latest data available for all geographical areas. (3)Parliamentary Constituency: Parliamentary Constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. Boundaries are as at the reference date. More information and a map can be found at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/maps/index.html (4)Action: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied(5), Fixed Length(6) and Entitlement Decision(7) sanction referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. The decision to apply a sanction can be overturned following reconsideration or appeal by the Sector Decision Maker. (5)Varied Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision. (6)Fixed Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's Direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question. (7)Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the Jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of personal independence payment applications which are appealed.

Esther McVey: The available information on expected numbers of personal independence payment (PIP) applications is published in the Reassessments and Impacts briefing note. This can be found on the gov.uk website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
	Table 1 in the briefing note shows the estimated number of new applications and reassessments in each quarter.
	Based on our experiences with disability living allowance and employment and support allowance, following a PIP decision being made we are expecting an appeal rate of 12.5% for new claims and 40% for reassessed cases. These forecasts are necessarily pessimistic so we can ensure Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service have sufficient capacity.
	The Department for Work and Pensions, together with Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service, will continue to monitor numbers of PIP applications and appeals.

Unemployed People: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on refunding the cost of travel by jobseekers to jobcentres in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The cost of refunding travel by jobseekers to Kilmarnock Jobcentre since April 2011 is:
	
		
			  £ 
			 April 2013 to June 2013 2,937.43 
			 April 2012 to March 2013 13,407.85 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 9,022.11

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department are employed to work on the universal credit project; and what the cost of their employment is.

Mark Hoban: The number of staff employed to work on universal credit is not a constant figure. It changes according to the stage that the project has reached.
	At the moment there are 360 staff working within the universal credit project team.
	Staff costs for the last full year for which figures are available amount to £25.3 million based on an average staffing level of 550.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the breakdown by each underlying element is of the projected £245 million saved in 2015-16 as a result of the introduction of a seven-day waiting period for new universal credit claims.

Mark Hoban: It is not possible to break down universal credit awards by element.
	Universal credit awards are calculated by first deriving a notional maximum universal credit amount that would apply if a claimant had no earnings, capital or other income. This maximum amount includes the standard allowance, support for dependent children, childcare, housing and additional support for those with a limited capability for work and for those with caring responsibilities.
	The maximum amount is then reduced depending on earnings, capital and other income. These reductions are applied to the whole universal credit award and not to the individual elements separately. It is therefore not possible to break down final universal credit awards into the individual elements that make up the maximum amount.

Universal Credit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the full roll-out of universal credit will take place.

Mark Hoban: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1052W, to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne).
	Universal credit will progressively roll-out in a carefully managed and controlled way from October 2013 with all those who are entitled to UC claiming the new benefit by 2017.

Vacancies

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies there were in Woking constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of live job vacancies in Ashfield constituency.

Mark Hoban: Headline figures on the number of unfilled vacancies at a point in time are published by the Office for National Statistics, based on a regular survey of employers. The sample size of the survey is, however, too small to allow information to be published below national level.
	Administrative data on the number of unfilled vacancies held locally by Jobcentre Plus were published until the end of last year and can be accessed by following this link:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=89
	and selecting the ‘live unfilled’ vacancies variable and the relevant geography and time period.
	Any snapshot of unfilled Jobcentre vacancies at a point in time misses the regular turnover of new vacancies that are notified as existing opportunities are filled. It also misses jobs available in the wider labour market, including those outside the local constituency, and those coming up through other recruitment channels or filled by direct approaches to employers or word of mouth.
	Universal Jobmatch has replaced the previous Jobcentre Plus system of taking vacancies. Information on vacancies reported through the new service is not currently available for parliamentary constituencies. Some information, including notified vacancies at local authority level, is available from the Universal Jobmatch management information tool:
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	and selecting number of new jobs and the relevant geography and time period. DWP is working with Monster Worldwide Limited, the Universal Jobmatch supplier, on a timetable for prioritising and implementing improvements to the available management information, including breakdowns by parliamentary constituency, subject to funding.

Work Programme

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when data on the number of people receiving post-Work Programme support will be made available.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions intend to open a consultation in summer 2013 on proposals for Work programme official statistics beyond June 2013, including plans for presenting figures on those who complete the programme. The September statistics publication will include initial limited statistics on those completing the Work programme. However because the consultation will not close until after the September release, proposals resulting from the consultation will not begin to be implemented until the December 2013 release.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many acres of land in rural areas (a) planning permission has been granted to build affordable homes since 2010 and (b) applications are currently under consideration by a planning committee to allow the building of affordable homes.

Nicholas Boles: No information is available centrally on the number of acres of land in rural areas on which (a) planning permission has been granted to build affordable homes or (b)where applications are currently under consideration by a planning committee to allow the building of affordable homes.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Brandon Lewis: The average cost to the Department for Communities and Local Government of processing the payment of an invoice, based on data for the last 12 months ending May 2013, is:
	The direct cost of staff involved in scanning invoices, handling queries and processing invoices for payment, divided by the number of invoices received in the 12 month period ending June 2013 is £7.85.
	The cost of processing the payment transaction is £2.62.
	The slight increase in average staff costs compared to my answer to the hon. Member of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 473W, is due a lower number of invoices being received, compared to the previous period.
	In the 12 month period ending June 2013 100% of invoices paid by the Department were paid electronically.

Council Tax

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in each local authority area have defaulted on the payment of council tax in each of the last six months; and how many such people were in receipt of council tax benefit.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The most recent council tax collection rate figures, published by my department on 26 June, show that council tax collection rates have increased and council tax arrears (as a proportion of the amount that should have been collected in year) have fallen.

Empty Property

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the estimated annual cost is to each local authority registered social landlord in England and Wales of holding a vacant (a) one bedroom house, (b) two bedroom house (c) three bedroom house and (d) bungalow;
	(2)  what the estimated annual income loss is of each local authority and registered social landlord in England and Wales as a consequence of the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty for the current financial year.

Mark Prisk: DCLG does not collect this information. Notwithstanding, the removal of the spare room subsidy in the social rented sector is estimated to save £490 million of taxpayers' money in Great Britain in 2013-14 by reducing the benefit bill. It will also help tackle over-crowding in social housing.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Brandon Lewis: In 2008-09, DCLG had a defined budget of £69,000 and £72,000 for 2009-10 and 2010-11 for promoting equality and diversity. This budget no longer exists.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government considers equality issues in exercising its functions, to comply with legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities affect specific groups in society. All staff working on policies and programmes therefore contribute to addressing equality and diversity issues through their day to day jobs and hence the overall total and total staff costs are not available centrally.

Fire Services: Part-time Employment

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on the 2010 Part-time Workers Settlement in regard to RDS fighters being entitled to the same (a) terms and conditions for pensions and (b) other rights as full-time workers.

Brandon Lewis: Ministers have received representations on these issues from bodies including the Fire Brigades Union, the Retained Firefighters' Union and the Local Government Association. Representations have also been received from firefighters and from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents. The settlement has also been discussed at the Firefighters' Pension Committee, which is my Department's consultative body on issues relating to firefighter pensions in England.

Floods: Property Development

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) houses and (b) businesses were built on a floodplain in each of the last six years.

Nicholas Boles: The estimated number of homes built in flood risk areas in England in the last six years for which data is available are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Homes built in flood risk areas 
			 2005 12800 
			 2006 14500 
			 2007 14100 
			 2008 13300 
			 2009 13700 
			 2010 9600 
		
	
	No information is available on the number of businesses built-in such areas.
	The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Local planning authorities should direct development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains, but where development is necessary, it must be demonstrated that it is safe and will not increase flood risk elsewhere.

Housing: Construction

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on minimum sizes and space standards in the construction of new private dwellings.

Nicholas Boles: The Government does not set minimum sizes and space standards for the construction of new private dwellings. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local councils should themselves identify the size, type, tenure and range of housing that is needed in their areas. The Government abolished the Whitehall density targets in 2010 that discouraged the provision of larger homes. The framework also asks local councils to plan to meet the housing needs of different groups in the community, including families with children, older people and people with disabilities.
	The Housing Standards Review has been considering the setting of internal space standards by local authorities. We will publish a consultation document about the review shortly.

Local Government Finance

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evidential basis relating to the effect of population density on the cost of delivering local government services he considered before determining the 2013-14 local government finance settlement.

Brandon Lewis: Data indicators used in the Local Government Finance settlement for 2013-14 are set out on our website at:
	www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/1314/datadef1s.pdf
	Data used in the settlement is the best that is consistently nationally available, which for population density is Office for National Statistics data. Population indicators are used in a number of Relative Needs Formulae and both density and sparsity have been subject to discussion and consultation with the sector, including consideration of detailed representations on delivering services in sparsely populated areas, ahead of this year's settlement.

Local Government: Pay

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual pay settlements for local authorities were between 1983 and 1997.

Brandon Lewis: Local government pay is a devolved matter. The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities in England, has provided data on pay rates for local government workers between 1975 and 1996. This data has been placed in the Library of the House. Detail of annual pay settlements in each of those years is not readily available.

Northcote House

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Following a review of learning and development across government the National School of Government, which delivered training on the Sunningdale Park site, closed in March 2012. Data on which individuals may have used the site was not retained.

Public Expenditure

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when he instituted a scheme to reward his Department's staff with shopping vouchers for ideas on departmental savings; who will decide on such awards; and when they will be made;
	(2)  what the value is of shopping vouchers awarded to his Department's staff as a reward for ideas on savings; and what budget is allocated for this scheme;
	(3)  for what ideas staff in his Department have been given shopping vouchers for ideas on savings to date.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 15 July 2013
	The scheme to reward staff with shopping vouchers for money saving ideas was launched on Monday 8 July. I have placed a copy of the associated departmental press release which provides more detail in the Library of the House.
	There is no specific budget allocated for this scheme, all awards are made from the non-consolidated performance pay pot. Awards would only be made at the time a suitable suggestion is made and accepted: if there are no suitable ideas, there will be no cost. Notwithstanding, such an initiative will pay for itself by promoting ideas that would not otherwise be implemented which save taxpayers' money.
	This is about encouraging ('nudging') a broader cultural shift within Whitehall. At present, the state rewards and recognises those that regulate more, spend more and tax more, rather than rewarding those who regulate less, spend less and tax less.

Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the trends in the number of (a) one bedroom, (b) two bedroom, (c) three bedroom and (d) four bedroom and larger void social housing properties since the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 12 July 2013
	DCLG publish information on the number of vacant local authority and private register provider (housing association) properties annually. The latest information is on my Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49764/20130111_Live_table_615.xls
	However, information about the number of bedrooms these properties contain is not collected centrally.
	We have introduced a series of measures to bring empty property back into use. In addition to the powers already available to councils, we have provided £235 million in direct funding, £130 million in New Homes Bonus, revised and are further reviewing permitted development rights, and we have offered councils increased flexibility over council tax levels for empty homes.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made following the Portas Review on addressing the restrictive aspects of the use class system to make it easier to change the use of key properties on the high street.

Nicholas Boles: New measures came into force on 30 May which allows a range of premises to convert temporarily to a number of other uses for a single continuous period of up to two years. This will help businesses respond quickly to market condition, create opportunities for new and start-up businesses and help retain the viability and vitality of our town centres.
	We have also made it easier to convert redundant commercial space into residential use: this has the potential to increase the resident population in and near town centres, in turn increasing footfall and supporting regeneration. We have in addition, amended planning rules to support flats above shops.

Visits Abroad

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on (a) which hotel at which rates, (b) flights at what class of travel, (c) entertainment at which venue, (d) food and drink at what venue and (e) any other spend on the recent trip to India by (i) the Secretary of State and (ii) any other attending Ministers, special advisers or officials in his Department.

Brandon Lewis: Details and costs of Ministers' overseas travel are published on the Department's website on a quarterly basis. Information about my right hon. Friend's trade visit to India will be published in due course.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many answers by his Department to Parliamentary Questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a link to a website in the last year;
	(2)  what guidance his Department follows in determining whether statistics in answers to Parliamentary Questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a weblink to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested on tables of statistics is not centrally held; it would involve disproportionate cost to undertake a comprehensive and bespoke analysis of which tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were included in answers.
	Notwithstanding, the Official Report—and parliamentary search tools are readily accessible to the hon. Member, allowing him to undertake such an analysis himself, if he wishes.
	The Office of the Leader of the House provides guidance to all Departments on answering parliamentary questions. The Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
	In the main, questions seeking information which is already published are answered by reference to the published material—this enables the hon. Member and others to see the information alongside related material and commentary and definitions. Tables of unpublished statistics that are short in length will generally be included in the answer but, longer and more complex tables and datasets are deposited in the Library of the House on a case by case basis.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the honourable Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many voters the Electoral Commission hopes to register in each of the next five years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission does not itself register voters, however, it does conduct public awareness campaigns to encourage electors to register to vote ahead of each poll.
	The Commission sets targets for the number of registration forms downloaded from its website, aboutmyvote.co.uk, during campaign periods. This measure provides a proxy for the number of registrations attributable to each campaign. The targets for the number of registration forms downloaded vary for each poll taking account of, for example, the size of the electorate.
	The Commission is currently investigating whether it would be possible to measure and set targets for the number of actual registrations as a result of its campaigns. It is currently not possible to do this as the registers are managed by 363 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) across Great Britain and data is not collected for the number of registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk or over the time period covered by Commission campaigns.
	The Commission will work with EROs across Scotland to establish the most effective way of monitoring the number of registration forms received as a result of its public awareness campaign ahead of the referendum on independence for Scotland in September 2014. If successful, the same model could be applied to other future public awareness campaigns.

PRIME MINISTER

Credit: Interest Rates

John Robertson: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has hosted payday loan companies in meetings at 10 Downing Street since May 2010.

David Cameron: Details of my meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. Details can be accessed online at:
	www.gov.uk

TRANSPORT

A5: Shrewsbury

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will assess the case for urgent improvements to the junctions along the A5 in Shrewsbury, specifically throughout Montford and specifically between Montford bridge turn and Shrawardine turn;
	(2)  what work the Highways Agency are undertaking with regards to improvements to junctions on the A5 in the Montford Parish in the constituency of the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham.

Stephen Hammond: Government have published plans for a smarter approach to future investment planning, through the development of route based strategies. A uniform set will be produced for the entire network, including the A5 as part of a wider route. When completed, this strategy will help inform the identification of future needs for the route.
	The Highways Agency currently has no works or improvements programmed for the A5 in the parish of Montford. They will continue to monitor the route and address issues as appropriate.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many apprenticeships his Department offered to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies has offered 49 apprenticeships since 2010 to people aged 16-26.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what strategies he has to create apprenticeships in his Department; and what plans he has to promote such strategies.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has well established apprenticeship programmes within four of its Agencies. This has enabled 312 existing staff to benefit from apprenticeships since 2009. Apprenticeships will continue to be offered and promoted within the Agency offering the opportunity.
	The Department has also recently developed a single Departmental approach to recruiting apprentices as part of our employment offer for 2013 - 2014. All Executive Agencies and the central Department are participating in a drive to recruit apprentices into permanent roles as part of our employment offer for 2013/2014.
	I fully support the provision of apprenticeships in the transport industry and recently met apprentices at Network Rails' base in Bristol.

Driving Under Influence: Drugs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to respond to recommendations made by the expert panel on drug driving.

Stephen Hammond: On 9 July the Department for Transport published a consultation on the Government's proposals to specify the drugs and their limits to be included in the new drug driving offence. This consultation considers the Expert Panel's recommendations and sets out the Government's response.
	The Government has accepted all of the controlled drugs recommended by the Panel and the limits for eight of the drugs. The Government has also set out the reasons for taking a tougher approach to illegal drugs than the Expert Panel recommended. I therefore take the view that the consultation is also a considered response to the Expert Panel's recommendations.

Driving Under Influence: Drugs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding he will provide to public awareness campaigns on drug-driving to coincide with drug driving legislation coming into force in summer 2014.

Stephen Hammond: Funding will be made available from the THINK! campaign to raise public awareness of drug driving during 2014-15. The precise amount will be determined as the campaign is developed.

Driving: Licensing

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency hold a current UK driving licence.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is not held by constituency boundary but the relevant postcodes show there are currently 79,178 holders of valid UK driving licences. Of these, 66,998 drivers hold a full driving licence and 12,180 drivers hold a provisional driving licence. The relevant postcodes are in the ranges: KA1, KA2, KA3, KA4 6, KA4 8, KA5 6, KA6 1, KA17, KA18 2 and KA18 3.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Norman Baker: All Ministers and officials in the Department for Transport contribute towards providing a transport system in the UK which is accessible for all members of the population.

Foreland Shipping

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effect on (a) UK shipping and (b) UK seafarers of the decision of James Fisher and Sons to divest its share in the Foreland Shipping consortium; and what recent discussions on the matter he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence.

Stephen Hammond: This was a commercial decision for James Fisher and Sons. It is understood that James Fisher and Sons will remain a client of the UK registry. I have not discussed this specific issue with the Secretary of State for Defence.
	The UK maritime sector is an important contributor to the UK economy and continued support for schemes such as the training requirements in tonnage tax, SMarT and maritime apprenticeships ensures that the UK will continue to have highly skilled and trained seafarers that are desirable to employers.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the revised cost-to-benefit ratio analysis of his revised costings for the HS2 project.

Simon Burns: The Department and HS2 Ltd are undertaking an extensive programme of work to update the economic assessment for HS2 to reflect the latest evidence, research and understanding of the project; including revised costings. This work will inform the next update to the business case for HS2 and will be published later this year to support consultation on the Phase Two route and the deposit of the Hybrid Bill for Phase One.

Livestock: Transport

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many inspections the Marine Management Organisation has undertaken on the MV Joline live animal transport vessel to date; and what the results of those inspections were.

Stephen Hammond: Ship inspections in the UK are not carried out by the Marine Management Organisation, but by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
	Details of the inspections of the Latvian registered MV Joline (IMO number 8743969) are available on the inspection database on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (PSC) website at:
	http://www.parismou.org/
	These inspections are conducted by European member states under the European Directive on PSC, and are carried out in accordance with the applicable international conventions for safety and pollution prevention. Since 2010 there have been five of these inspections, one of these was conducted by the MCA.

Public Transport: Hearing Impairment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the extent of deaf awareness training among public transport services staff.

Norman Baker: Responsibility for disability awareness training rests primarily with the transport operators. Our Accessibility Action Plan, published in 2012, seeks to address barriers to using transport, including for those with hearing impairment.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional investment in (a) service improvements, (b) rolling stock and (c) station improvements have been secured as a result of negotiations to extend the (i) South West, (ii) East Midlands, (iii) Cross Country, (iv) Wales and Borders, (v) London Midland, (vi) West Coast, (vii) Greater Anglia, (viii) Great Western, (ix) Trans Pennine, (x) Southern, (xi) Northern, (xii) Integrated Kent, (xiii) Thameslink and (xiv) Essex Thameside franchises.

Simon Burns: The full programme of Direct Awards was announced as part of the Franchising Programme on 26 March. To date we have completed negotiations for two of the Direct Awards; West Coast and the interim Essex Thameside.
	Details of contracted service improvements, rolling stock or obligations in relation to station improvements will be provided within the Franchise Agreements, and these will be published on the Department for Transport website.
	The West Coast Franchise Agreement can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203896/intercity-west-coast-interim-franchise-agreement.pdf
	The interim Essex Thameside Franchise Agreement is currently being prepared for publication and will be available in due course.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the total cost to the public purse of awarding extensions to existing rail franchises.

Simon Burns: We make an assessment of what value each franchise should deliver before entering into negotiations for the direct award of new franchises to existing franchisees. This information is commercially sensitive. However, we will publish the value of each franchise when we make the relevant announcement for each franchise.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on external advisers providing (a) technical, (b) legal and (c) financial advice in relation to renegotiating extensions to existing franchises.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the total paid to external advisors to date for the direct awards (£—excluding VAT).
	
		
			 Advisors Total (£) 
			 Technical 179,817.12 
			 Legal 371,173.33 
			 Financial Advice 91,194.80

Regulation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the title is of each regulation his Department (a) introduced and (b) revoked in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: This response covers regulations considered to be in scope of the One-In, One-Out and One-In, Two-Out rules (ie those that impact on business and civil society organisations) that the Department for Transport has introduced or revoked in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 to date.
	All regulations introduced or revoked that are in scope of the One-In, One-Out and One-In, Two-Out rules are listed on the Statements of New Regulation (SNRs) from which the following tables are taken.
	The One-In, One-Out rule was introduced on 1 September 2010 and applied to regulations introduced from 1 January 2011. The One-In, One-Out rule was ended on the 31st December 2012 and replaced by the One-In, Two-Out rule which applies to regulations introduced from 1 January 2013.
	The following table provides the title of each regulation in scope of One-In, One-Out that the Department for Transport introduced or revoked in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, and (iii) 2012. These measures were listed in the first four SNRs.
	
		
			 Title of the regulation Date the regulation came into force or was revoked Statement of new regulation that the measure was published in In, Out or Zero net cost Equivalent annual net cost to business (£ million, 2009) 
			 Travel Concession Schemes Regulations (Transport Act 1985) 1 April 2011 SNR1 In 0.004 
			 Aerodromes (Designation) (Detention and Sale of Aircraft) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2011 13 April 2011 SNR1 Zero net cost 0 
			 Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 15 March 2011 SNR1 Zero net cost 0 
			 The Airport Byelaws (Designation) Order 2011—Designation of Shoreham for purposes of making byelaws 13 April 2011 SNR1 Zero net cost 0 
			 Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 1 August 2011 Published in SNR1 but delayed and then published in SNR2 In 0.02 
		
	
	
		
			 Revocations of the explosive provision in Classification and Labelling of Explosive Regulations 1983 24 October 2011 SNR2 Out -0.04 
			 M25 Motorways Junctions 2 to 3 (Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2011 10 February 2012 Published in SNR2 but delayed and did not come into force until the SNR3 operating period Zero net cost 0 
			 Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 18 October 2011 SNR2 Zero net cost 0 
			 Reforming the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) Scheme 30 April 2012 SNR3 In 6.50 
			 The Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship transfers) 2010 Regulations as amended by the 2012 Regulations 31 March 2012 SNR3 In 0.03 
			 European Directive on Interoperability of Rail Systems 16 January 2012 SNR3 Out -2.08 
			 Air Navigation Order (Omnibus Amendment and other necessary amendments) 10 August 2012 Published in SNR3 but did not come into force until the SNR4 operating period Out -0.17 
			 M1 Junctions 10 to 13 Improvements (Managed Motorways) 3 May 2012 SNR3 Zero net cost 0 
			 M25 Junctions 7-16 (Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 17 September 2012 Published in SNR3 but did not come into force until the SNR4 operating period Zero net cost 0 
			 Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Middleton Railway Drewry Car and Cairngorm Funicular Railway) Exemptions (Amendment) Order 2011 19 December 2011 Published in SNR3 but actually came into force in the SNR2 operating period. Zero net cost 0 
			 The Street Works (Charges for Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2012 14 March 2012 SNR3 Zero net cost 0 
			 Historic Vehicles MOT Exemption 18 November 2012 SNR4 Zero net cost 0 
			 M62 J25-30 Managed Motorway 20 August 2012 SNR4 Zero net cost 0 
		
	
	During the One-in, One-Out rule the Department for Transport introduced 18 regulations. However, the Department for Transport did publish 21 regulations in the first four SNRs but only 18 came into force for several reasons. For example, the regulation ‘Traffic Orders-Introducing a Flexible Approach to Publicity Requirements’ did not come into force as planned due to a ministerial decision not to proceed with this regulation due to concerns about the impact that the regulation would have on local newspapers.
	The following table provides the title of each regulation in scope of One-In, Two-Out that the Department for Transport has introduced or revoked in (iv) 2013 to date. The measures in the following table were listed in the fifth Statement of New Regulation (SNR5).
	
		
			 One-In, Two-Out regulations 
			 Title of the regulation Date the regulation came into force or was revoked Statement of new regulation that the measure was published in In, Out or Zero net cost Equivalent annual net cost to business (£ million, 2009) 
			 Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 21 May 2013 Published in SNR4 but did not come into force until the SNR5 operating period Out -0.10 
			 Greater Manchester Light Rail Exemption Order 1 April 2013 SNR5 Zero net cost 0 
			 The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2013—Epilepsy 8 March 2013 SNR5 Zero net cost 0 
			 Transitional SI (Commencement Order) for the airport economic regulation reforms in the Civil Aviation Bill 11 March 2013 SNR5 Out Quantification of Out to be provided in SNR7 once primary legislation reforms are fully enforced 
			 Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill 26 June 2013 SNR5 Zero net cost 0 
		
	
	In total the Department for Transport published 10 regulations in scope of One-In, Two-Out in SNR5 however five of these regulations have been delayed and will now come into force at a later date.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed at below risk assessed levels in June 2013 on 51 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by '’MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Belfast MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Stornoway and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland, Aberdeen, Liverpool or Holyhead.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Liverpool was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Liverpool Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below the risk assessed levels in June 2013 26 occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by ‘MRCC pairing’ where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Liverpool MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Holyhead and dial up links from the MRCCs at Milford Havens Swansea, Belfast or Aberdeen.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in June 2013.

Stephen Hammond: Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below the risk assessed levels in June 2013 on three occasions out of 60 shifts.
	These situations are mitigated by 'MRCC pairing' where each MRCC is connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support. In respect of Stornoway MRCC mutual support is available through a fixed link from MRCC Belfast and dial up links from the MRCCs at Shetland or Aberdeen.

South West Trains

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons there was an increase in the transaction fees for capacity enhancement projects paid to South West Trains between 2011-12 and 2012-13; and whether such payments form part of the network grant from Network Rail to train operating companies.

Simon Burns: The figures for transaction fees for capacity enhancement projects paid to SSWT increased in 2011-12 and 2012-13 as the negotiations to contract these projects through the franchise agreement were concluded and these fees became due. These payments do not form part of the network grant from Network Rail to train operating companies.

South West Trains

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether (a) his Department or (b) Network Rail has paid the transaction fees for capacity enhancement projects to South West Trains in each year since 2009-10.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport has paid the transaction fees for the capacity enhancement projects in each year since 2009.

Virgin Trains

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of annual payments (a) to Virgin West Coast from the Government and (b) from Virgin West Coast to the Government in respect of the West Coast franchise in 2013-14 and in each year of that extended contract.

Simon Burns: The contract to continue Virgin Rail's tenure on West Coast began on 9 December 2012. This included an annual budget setting process that agreed a contracted premium of £92 million for the period 2013-14.
	Information on the annual payments between the Government and Virgin Rail is published annually in arrears by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) on their data portal. This is available on the ORR's website at
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk
	Figures available on the ORR website include up to 2011-12; the figures for 2012-13 are still being finalised before release.

HEALTH

NHS: Drugs

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the medicines contained in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisals (a) TA249, (b) TA256 and (c) TA275 are recommended as the first-line options for treatments in patients who meet the clinical criteria set out in those appraisals subject to patient agreement and the clinical judgement of the treating clinician;
	(2)  whether the definition of options for treatment contained in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisals (a) TA249, (b) TA256 and (c) TA275 confers on the prescribers the ability to prescribe novel anti-coagulants as first-line treatment in patients who meet the clinical criteria set out in those appraisals subject to patient agreement.

Norman Lamb: The medicines covered by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals TA249, TA256 and TA275 are recommended as treatment options subject to specific clinical criteria. Full details are set out in the relevant technology appraisal guidance, which is available on NICE'S website at:
	www.nice.org.uk
	If a NICE technology appraisal recommends use of a technology as an option for the treatment of a disease or condition, it should be available for a patient who meets the clinical criteria set out in the guidance, subject to the clinical judgment of the treating clinician. NICE's guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make treatment decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient.
	NICE's guidance states that the decision about whether to start treatment with the medicines covered by these appraisals should be made after an informed discussion between the clinician and the person about the risks and benefits of these products compared with warfarin.
	National health service commissioners are required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance where a clinician believes they are appropriate.

NHS: Private Finance Initiative

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent officials in his Department work on supporting operational private finance initiative projects of NHS trusts.

Daniel Poulter: No departmental officials work full-time on private finance initiative (PFI), though some individuals spend part of their time supporting the delivery and management of PFI schemes.
	Our estimate for the input in terms of an aggregated amount of whole time equivalents (WTE) working on PFI, is 2.5 WTE. This estimate includes the input to approve the. Business cases of PFI schemes.

NHS: Third Sector

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential role of charity and voluntary organisations in delivering services with the NHS under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Norman Lamb: Voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations play critical and integral roles in health and social care including as providers of services, advocates and representing the voice of citizens, service users, patients and carers. Whilst there has been no formal assessment regarding the potential role of charity and voluntary organisations in delivering services with the national health service, the provision of the Health and Social Care Act mean that charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises will have greater opportunities to offer health and care services.
	In May 2012 the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), asked Monitor to undertake an independent review of matters that may be affecting the ability of different providers of NHS services to participate fully in improving patient care. On 26 March this year, Monitor published “Its Fair Playing Field” review and its recommendations are intended to support all providers across the public, private and voluntary sectors in their work to help users.

Pregnancy: Drugs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason pre-conception counselling for women of child-bearing age taking anti-convulsant medication recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidelines is not being provided across the board within the UK.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced clinical guidelines which sit alongside the Quality and Outcomes Framework on the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy. The guidance can be found at:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG137
	NICE clinical guidelines are based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and are developed through wide consultation with stakeholders. They represent best practice but implementation in England is not mandatory for the national health service. The adoption of NICE clinical guidelines in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.
	The NICE guidelines on the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy contains detailed information on counselling prior to pregnancy and recommends referral to a specialist if required for further advice. NHS England has advised that they would expect clinicians to follow NICE guidance.

Warfarin

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS organisations are not permitted under the Health Act 2009 to publish guidance or make any form of direction which advises or encourages clinicians to prescribe only warfarin as the first-line option for drug treatment in patients who meet the clinical criteria set out in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance (a) TA249, (b) TA256 and (c) TA275.

Norman Lamb: There is no statutory prohibition on national health service organisations providing prescribing guidance to clinicians.
	Clinicians can prescribe any product which they consider necessary for the treatment of their patient under the NHS. This is subject to two provisos in primary care: firstly, that the product is not included in Schedules 1 or 2 to the NHS (General Medical Services contract) Regulations 2004 and secondly, that the clinician is prepared to justify any challenges to their prescribing by the relevant NHS commissioner. The availability of specific prescribed treatments in NHS secondary care may be subject to the agreement of the relevant commissioner to fund them, but NHS commissioners are required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisal guidance where a clinician believes they are appropriate.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Confiscation Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the five largest outstanding confiscation orders which are owed to the Crown Prosecution Service are; and to which offences they relate.

Oliver Heald: Confiscation orders are not owed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Payment is made to Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The HMCTS has the responsibility for the enforcement of all domestic confiscation orders. The Crown Prosecution Service will assist in the enforcement process when it can add value by managing restraint orders, seeking the appointment of private sector enforcement receivers in respect of UK based assets and/or by requesting mutual legal assistance from overseas jurisdictions in respect of assets located abroad. When the prosecutor can no longer provide additional value, the lead enforcement role reverts to the HMCTS.
	The five largest outstanding confiscation orders for which the CPS currently has the lead enforcement role are set out in the following table. The orders have been listed on the basis of the current order amount, which takes into account any variation made to the original confiscation order, but does not include interest or any amount paid towards the order.
	
		
			 Surname Forenames Offences Current Order Amount (£) 
			 Chohan Asad Hussain Convicted in his absence of excise evasion. 28,602,059 
			 Johnson Craig Matthew Cheating the Revenue; conspiracy to furnish false information for the purpose of accounts; and money laundering. 26,060,383 
			 Ahmed(1) Syed Mubarak Conspiracy to cheat the Revenue. 16,145,098 
			 Ahmad(1) Shakeel Conspiracy to cheat the Revenue. 16,145,098 
			 Bedesha Jasbinder Cheating the Revenue and money laundering. 14,019,439 
			 (1) It has not been possible to appoint an enforcement receiver in respect of Mr Ahmed's and Mr Ahmad's assets, as there is an appeal pending before the supreme court.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the five largest exit packages agreed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were for departing members of staff in the last year for which figures are available; what position in the CPS was held by the recipient in each case; and whether each package included a confidentiality agreement.

Oliver Heald: In the last year (July 2012 to date) the five largest exit packages agreed by the CPS are as follows:
	
		
			 Exit date Exit package (£) 
			 November 2012 257,416.25 
			 January 2013 175,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2013 134,969.06 
			 November 2012 134,239.00 
			 November 2012 133,106.75 
			 Total 834,731.06 
		
	
	For reasons of confidentiality and to protect the identities of individuals who received these payments, the positions held by the recipients cannot be disclosed.
	Two of these five arrangements have legally binding confidentiality agreements in place.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many exit packages worth in excess of £100,000 the Crown Prosecution Service has approved since May 2010; and whether any of these included ex gratia payments.

Oliver Heald: Since May 2010 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has approved 87 exit packages worth in excess of £100,000. The following table presents the numbers of exit packages and their total value by year:
	
		
			  Number of Exit Packages in Excess of £100,000 Value of Exit Packages Per Year (£) 
			 2010-11 10 1,599,063.00 
			 2011-12 41 4,632,770.53 
			 2012-13 23 2,672,854.66 
			 2013-14 13 1,490,018.33 
			 Total 87 10,394,706.00 
		
	
	Of the 87 exit packages worth in excess of £100,000.00, six contained a compensation element, made as a result of a process of negotiation arising from an employment dispute, where both parties were legally represented. These payments have been subject to National Audit Office scrutiny as part of the annual certification process and were made in accordance with HM Treasury 'Managing Public Money' arrangements.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the total value was of court cost awards made in favour of the Crown Prosecution Service that were written-off in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the five preceding years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) receives awards of costs made against convicted defendants at the discretion of the judge or magistrates. CPS is informed of the level of costs awarded in court by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and accounts for the corresponding sums due. HMCTS pay over the monies when collected, which reduces the balance receivable.
	A number of these costs awarded may never be collected, for example when the individual is imprisoned, has left the country or has died. HMCTS writes off irrecoverable debts as and when they become apparent and informs the CPS of the amounts to be written off.
	The total value of costs awards that were written off by CPS in 2012-13 and each of the five preceding years is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Cost awards written off (£) 
			 2012-13 4,457,298.30 
			 2011-12 4,388,753.51 
			 2010-11 2,672,887.52 
			 2009-10 2,996,251.93 
			 2008-09 3,100,685.57 
			 2007-08 2,867,188.92

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the total value was of court cost awards made in favour of the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) 2012-13 and (b) each of the five preceding years.

Oliver Heald: The following table shows the total cash value of court cost awards made in favour of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in each year since 2007-08:
	
		
			  Cost awards (£000) 
			 2007-08 39,894 
			 2008-09 38,456 
			 2009-10 40,601 
			 2010-11 43,845 
			 2011-12 42,302 
			 2012-13 41,258

Fraud

Bob Neill: To ask the Attorney-General what guidance the (a) Law Officers and (b) Crown Prosecution Service has produced in relation to fraudulently obtaining an advantage through deception.

Oliver Heald: The Law Officers have not issued guidance to prosecutors in relation to fraudulently obtaining an advantage.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued Legal Guidance for prosecutors in respect of offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. That guidance is publicly available on the CPS website at:
	http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/fraud_act/

Offences Against Children: Wales

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to address the lack of clarity identified by the Jillings Report over the number of witness statements sent to it concerning abuse allegations in Welsh residential care homes.

Oliver Heald: An inventory was made some months ago of the surviving advice files which had been sent to the Crown Prosecution service (CPS) concerning abuse allegations in Welsh residential care homes. Some of the files were destroyed and those that survived were not complete as they were sent back to the police in accordance with the CPS policy at the time. It is no longer possible to provide accurate figures of the number of witness statements originally received in this case from the surviving CPS records.
	The CPS is currently assisting Lady Justice Macur who is conducting an independent investigation into the Waterhouse Enquiry and a significant amount of the remaining CPS material has been forwarded to her to support her inquiries.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department plans to publish its response to the findings of the Intensive Alternative to Custody pilot evaluations.

Jeremy Wright: In line with standard practice we do not intend to publish a response to these evaluation findings.
	We are now in the process of updating the impact analysis (as we committed to do in the July 2012 paper) on reoffending using a larger and more recent dataset. We plan to publish the findings of this in autumn 2013.
	These evaluations are published on the MOJ website and can be located on the following webpages:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluations-on-intensive-alternatives-to-custody
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162332/intensive-alt-custody-research-summary.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162351/iac-impact-evaluation-research-summary.pdf

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was collected following situations where defendants breached their bail conditions and a surety had been given in order for bail to be granted in the most recent year for which information is available.

Helen Grant: Surety amounts are recorded on the HM Courts and Tribunals Service accounting system in the same way as a fine and therefore it is not possible to identify the amounts collected that relate just to surety. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of fine accounts.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much (a) he and (b) officials in his Department spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Training budgets in the Ministry of Justice are devolved and managed locally by the Ministry's different business groups and agencies. The Ministry does not record this information centrally. Therefore to establish the cost for all training in any particular activity, such as select committee appearances or media contacts, in any given year would require a Ministry-wide survey of all its local business areas. This would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The available central information is that £5,344 was spent in 2012-13 on advanced communications courses, which covered work with the media. Twenty officials attended these courses. The available central information is that no expenditure was incurred on external assistance to prepare for select committee appearances. There is no available central information on these activities in 2011-12.
	Training is designed to help ministers and officials clearly communicate the work of the Ministry of Justice to the public, including the reforms that are taking place at the moment. The training provided for staff in appearing before a select committee prepares officials to give evidence and perform effectively as witnesses. We always seek value for money when sourcing training opportunities, and wherever possible look to provide it ‘in-house’.

Courts: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many litigants in person there have been in civil and family courts in Wales in each month from June 2012 to June 2013.

Helen Grant: The case management system used by the Ministry of Justice for statistical analysis on civil (non family) cases in the county courts holds information on the volume of civil (non-family) cases progressing through the County court system as well as the workload of county courts in England and Wales. The case management system holds data regarding the legal representation of persons in civil cases, but the number of litigants in person there were in civil cases is not currently centrally collated. We are currently considering options for collating this information.
	Family cases are recorded on a separate case management system. This system has a field for recording each party's representative which is left blank if the party is representing themselves and not getting any legal help or advice. However, this field may be left blank in other situations (eg if the party was managing and presenting their own case but, outside the knowledge of the court, was getting help and advice from a lawyer to prepare their case). More general information on legal representation in family cases can be found in table 2.7 of Court Statistics Quarterly, the latest edition of which can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207806/court-stats-q1-main-tables.xls
	However, we are not able to specifically state how many litigants in person there were in family cases. Again, we are currently considering options for collating this information.
	While we don't currently have any centrally collated information on litigants in person, we will continue to monitor the related management information already collected by HMCTS, the LAA and CAFCASS.
	Parties with no legal representation are not a new phenomenon in our courts. Judges are used to helping persons with no legal representation—explaining procedures and what is expected of them—and in family courts these cases are often resolved as quickly, or quicker, than if both parties were legally represented.

Devon and Cornwall Police

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department took following the conclusion of Operation Reproof in 2005.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The investigation into Operation Reproof was carried out under the supervision of the former Police Complaints Authority and the recommendations were passed to the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall police in 2005 for her to implement.
	Evidence was given to the Leveson inquiry on Operation Reproof. This can be found on the Leveson inquiry website at:
	www.levesoninquiry.org.uk

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the annual cost to the courts and tribunal service of employment and support allowance appeals has been since 2008.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to social security and child support are heard by the First-tier tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	The following table shows the estimated total cost to HMCTS of employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals in the years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. For each period the estimated costs were calculated by multiplying the average cost of an individual SSCS tribunal case in that year by the number of ESA appeals disposed of during the year.
	
		
			 Estimated cost of employment and support allowance appeals 
			  Number of all ESA appeals disposed of(1) Estimated total cost (£ million) 
			 2008-09(2) 125 0.03 
			 2009-10 70,535 21 
			 2010-11 176,567 42 
			 2011-12 204,321 47 
			 2012-13 268,137 66 
			 (1) Data include both cases cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a tribunal hearing, through being struck out, withdrawn or superseded. (2) Employment and support allowance was introduced in October 2008 and this is reflected in the volume (appeals would not have started to have come through to the tribunal until some weeks after October 2008) and cost provided for the period 2008-09. 
		
	
	The increased cost is due to inflationary uplifts and also due to the expansion of the tribunal to deal with the increased volume of appeals received.
	In addition to local initiatives, such as identifying additional hearing venues across HMCTS estate, and increasing the use of Saturday sessions, HMCTS continues to respond strongly at a national level to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. Measures in place include ongoing recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members and the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP. All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals (which includes appeals disposed of at a tribunal hearing as well as those struck out, superseded or withdrawn) has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,500 in 2012-13 (an increase of 66%).
	The average waiting time for all appeals heard by the SSCS tribunal has fallen nationally from 23 weeks in 2011-12 to 18 weeks in 2012-013 and for ESA appeals specifically, the average waiting time has reduced from 23 weeks in 2011-12 to 17 weeks in 2012-13.

Evictions

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many evictions and eviction proceedings in England and Wales took place in (a) April 2013, (b) May 2013 and (c) June 2013.

Helen Grant: The information requested for April to June 2013 will be published in the Ministry of Justice's next Mortgage and Possession quarterly bulletin on 8 August 2013.

Exhumation

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how his Department's policy, practice and procedures on exhumation have changed since June 2007.

Helen Grant: Between June 2007 and March 2008, those applying to exhume human remains for archaeological reasons were advised that no licence was required for sites that were no longer recognisable as burial grounds and had passed into other use. The licensing regime was reinstated in April 2008 and licences issued from then until April 2011 contained a condition that human remains had to be reburied within two years of their excavation. Those wishing to do so could however apply to vary this condition and defer reburial for a longer or indefinite period.
	Since April 2011 we have taken a more flexible approach, and licences now allow applicants to retain the remains (usually in agreement with the senior local authority archaeologist) rather than requiring reburial. A statement about this approach is available on the Ministry's website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/coroners-burial-cremation/burials
	Since June 2007 there has been no change in the policy, practice and procedures on licences to exhume single sets of buried remains.

Insurance

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what reduction in the cost of motor insurance he expects to arise as a result of the lower litigation costs in place since 1 April 2013;
	(2)  what recent meetings he has had with claimant lawyers and their representative bodies to discuss the effect of recent changes to civil litigation and reduced costs in the personal injury sector; and what future meetings he has planned;
	(3)  what recent meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of the insurance industry to discuss passing savings accrued from lower litigation costs on to consumers through lower premiums;
	(4)  with reference to the Statement of 16 May 2013, Official Report, columns 48-9W, on whiplash claims, what measures he will use to assess the effect of the recent civil reform programme on the operation of personal injury market and the costs of motor insurance.

Helen Grant: The Government's reforms to civil justice will restore a much needed sense of proportion and fairness to the system by removing excess costs and deterring unnecessary cases. I and my officials have continued to hold meetings with claimant and defendant representatives to discuss the reforms. While the level of any reduction in the cost of motor insurance premiums is a matter for the insurance industry, the Government has made clear that it expects the industry to pass on any savings in lower premiums to consumers.
	Most of the reforms came into effect in April 2013 and it is too early to assess their full impact, but we are committed to a review within three-five years of implementation. In the meantime we will monitor the impact of the reforms, including motor insurance premiums.

Legal Aid Scheme

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure quality of service during contract periods for those firms awarded legal aid contracts.

Jeremy Wright: Legal aid contracts are only awarded to legal services providers that can meet the Legal Aid Agency's requirements, which are then formalised in the contract between the LAA and the contracted organisation.
	There are several ways in which the LAA ensures quality of service by providers. These are as follows:
	1. Attaining Quality Standards
	Before being awarded a legal aid contract with the Legal Aid Agency an organisation must either hold or commit to achieving one of the recognised specialist advice level quality standards (i.e. currently the Specialist Quality Mark, Mediation Quality Mark or the Law Society's Lexcel Practice Management Standard), prior to the contract start date. The organisation must ensure that they maintain the quality standard throughout the life of the LAA contract.
	2. Supervisor requirement
	It is a requirement that any contracted organisation has an individual who has a sufficiently high level of expertise to be considered a supervisor for the purpose of the LAA contract. It is the Supervisor's responsibility to look at their organisation's casework, training and development needs, and to ensure that quality standards are maintained in line with the LAA contract. Supervisors must have experience in the relevant category of law to which the contract relates, and should be accredited by regulatory bodies where appropriate.
	3. Peer Review
	The LAA uses Peer Review as the mechanism by which it monitors the quality of advice provided by contracted legal services providers. Peer Review is a quality assessment tool which directly measures the quality of advice and legal work carried out by legal aid providers and is delivered through targeted assessments, random assessments and gateway assessments. Peer Review is administered by the LAA and carried out by experienced legal aid practitioners are appointed through an open selection process.

Legal Aid Scheme

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the Legal Aid Agency's target timescale is for the payment of legal aid to barristers at the criminal public bar; what proportion of legal aid payments were made by the Legal Aid Agency within the agency's target timescale in the latest period for which figures are available; what the total number of claims outstanding for longer than that target timescale is; and how many claims have been outstanding for longer than six months.

Jeremy Wright: Last year the Legal Aid Agency's (LAA) target for processing of invoices under the Advocate Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS) was 90% within 30 working days. Against this it achieved 94%.
	From 1 July 2013 our target has tightened further to 90% in 25 working days. Since the beginning of July 2013, LAA are currently processing the majority of claims at 23 days, so are within the revised target.
	As at 5 July, LAA had 904 claims outside of the 25 working day target. As LAA currently receives approximately 2800 AGFS claims per week, this represents less than two days of average intake. There are no claims outstanding for longer than six months. There will be instances when we require further information, as a bill needs further scrutiny to ensure we are using taxpayers' money appropriately. This is entirely the correct thing to do.

Magistrates

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average age of a magistrate was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012;
	(2)  how many magistrates were (a) male, (b) female, (c) black, Asian and minority ethnic and (d) registered disabled in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Helen Grant: As of 1 April there were 23,499 magistrates in 2013 respectively. Further information can be found in the tables provided. We are only able to provide information on the total number of magistrates in England and Wales.
	This information is a further breakdown of the information provided in table 8.4 of Court Statistics Quarterly for January to March 2013.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-statistics-quarterly-jan-mar-2013

Personal Injury

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential number of redundancies in the personal injury legal sector as a result of the reduction in costs in the revised protocol for low-valued personal injury claims in road traffic accidents through the Road Traffic Accident Portal.

Helen Grant: On 27 February 2013 the Government published its response to the consultation on fixed recoverable costs in relation to the extension of the Road Traffic Accident Personal Injury scheme, together with an accompanying impact assessment. The latter acknowledged the possibility that there may be adjustments to the personal injuries claims market in terms of which lawyers and law firms continue to operate in it, and that some providers may choose to exit. Others may decide to enter.
	Both the Government's response and the impact assessment are available online at
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/extension-rta-scheme
	and have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Prisoners: Travellers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent by HM Prison Service on raising awareness of Gypsy and Traveller issues within the service in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prisons have held a Traveller Day in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such events.

Jeremy Wright: This information is not available. Prisons decide locally whether or not to engage in activities to raise awareness of Gypsy and Traveller issues and/or to hold a Traveller day, and no information about these activities or their costs is held centrally.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the (a) extent of use and (b) effectiveness of mindfulness therapy in prisons.

Jeremy Wright: We are aware of the developing empirical literature on the impact of mindfulness therapy and its potential, for instance, in improving emotional regulation. It is an emerging area of psychological therapy that as yet, does not have a large evidence base in the forensic field.
	NOMS has not assessed the extent of mindfulness therapy in prison interventions. There are a range of interventions available in prison., many of which will be provided through partnership arrangements with other providers. Our data systems do not allow for identification of the techniques on which those interventions are based.
	Some NOMS accredited interventions do incorporate a mindfulness based approach, although this is a relatively new innovation. As such, mindfulness therapy will contribute to the effectiveness of these interventions but it is not possible to assess its impact in isolation since it is delivered as part of an integrated package.
	There are currently no published reports relating to NOMS pilot projects that make specific reference to the effectiveness of the use of mindfulness, or mindfulness-based techniques.

Prisons: Swimming Pools

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons have swimming pools for use by inmates.

Jeremy Wright: All prisons are required to provide physical education to prisoners. Since 2010 the number of prisons with swimming pools for use by prisoners has reduced from five to two. These are located at HMP Standford Hill and HMP Holloway. Where operational circumstances permit, these pools are made available to local groups, including for example, those who support the elderly.

Public Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department received from the Exchequer reserve in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and to what use such sums were put.

Helen Grant: The information on drawdown from the Treasury reserve is published in the departmental supplementary estimates. The details for 2011-12 and 2012-13 can be seen using the following links. In addition, we have also produced the drawdown details in the following tables.
	
		
			 Details of drawdown from the Treasury Reserve 2011/12 
			 Supplementary Estimate Type of funding Purpose Amount £ million 
			 Spring DEL Drawdown in relation to funding for Pre-Tariff cases within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. 235.0 
			   Drawdown to cover cost pressures emerging in the Ministry 51.0 
			   Total 286.0 
		
	
	
		
			 2012/13 
			 Supplementary Estimate Type of funding Purpose Amount £ million 
			 Spring DEL Drawdown in relation to funding for Pre-Tariff cases within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. 90.0 
			   Drawdown to cover cost pressures emerging in the Ministry. 159.0 
			   To cover costs of crystallisation of liabilities within Magistrates Courts Committee (MCC) Pension scheme. 130.0 
			   Total 379.0 
		
	
	2011-12 supplementary estimates
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/179827/supplementary_estimates1112_moj.pdf.pdf
	2012-13 supplementary estimate
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/179782/supplementary_estimates_1213_moj.pdf.pdf

Redundancy Pay

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on exit packages for its staff in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and how much of this sum was spent on compulsory redundancies.

Helen Grant: The information requested is on page 105 of the Ministry of Justice's annual report and accounts 2012-13 (HC 22). This can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13
	Excluding Probation Trusts, redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. Where the Department has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the Department and not by the Principal Civil Service Pension scheme.
	For Probation Trusts, redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the Trust's redundancy policy. The Trusts pay the statutory minimum redundancy allocation based on age and length of service as set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and, where applicable, subject to the Pension Plan and Redundancy rules, meets the additional costs of early retirement.
	Ill health retirement costs are met by the pension scheme and are not included in the information published in the annual report and accounts.
	Exit costs are accounted for in full in the year the exit package is confirmed.

Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many senior civil servants left his Department and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was.

Helen Grant: Information on the total number of staff that left the Ministry of Justice and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies under voluntary exit terms and received an exit package in the financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13 is on page 106 of the Ministry's Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12 (HC 67) and on page 105 of the Ministry's Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 (HC 22). It can be found at the following links:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-12
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13
	However, the information included in these data for senior civil servants is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Excluding Probation Trusts, redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. Where the Department has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the Department and not by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.
	The Civil Service Compensation Scheme was reformed in 2010. Under the previous terms, there could be costs extending for up to 10 years from a departure while under the reformed scheme, all of the costs fall within the year of departure.
	The reformed scheme allows for greater distinction between voluntary and compulsory exits and is designed to encourage voluntary rather than compulsory departures.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to increase the maximum sentencing powers of magistrates.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is continuing to examine the case for increasing magistrates’ custodial sentencing powers and in the meantime will retain on the statute book the existing provisions that enable an increase. We have already announced our intention, in the Offender Rehabilitation Bill to ensure all offenders are subject to supervision on release from custody including offenders serving less than 12 month sentences. These proposals include a new role and powers for magistrates to deal with offenders who breach the conditions of their supervision.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enable magistrates to sentence offenders to six months consecutive sentences for more than one summary-only offence.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is continuing to examine the case for increasing magistrates’ custodial sentencing powers including options for increasing the maximum sentences available for consecutive sentences.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow the Crown Prosecution Service to have an input into the sentences handed down in courts following a conviction or a guilty plea.

Helen Grant: Sentencing is a matter for the judiciary, however, the prosecution already has a role in assisting the court. The Code for Crown Prosecutors requires the prosecutors to draw to the court's attention factors which might reasonably be expected to affect sentence. This includes: any aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the case; any victim personal statement or other information available to the prosecution as to the impact of the offence on the victim; where appropriate, evidence of the impact of the offending on a community; and any relevant sentencing guidelines or guideline cases. The prosecutor may also offer assistance to the court by making submissions, in the light of all these factors, as to the appropriate sentencing range. The prosecution also has a duty to apply for appropriate ancillary orders.
	The prosecutor is also instructed to note any exceptional or particular circumstances found by the court for not imposing a mandatory or minimum sentence, where applicable, and whether the sentence was unduly lenient.

Social Security Benefits

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the decision that benefit appeals cases should be sent directly to HM Courts and Tribunal Service on waiting times for decisions on such appeals.

Helen Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.
	The phased introduction of direct lodgement of appeals against decisions made by the DWP to the SSCS tribunal (rather than to DWP) began with effect from 22 April 2013. Since that date, appeals against decisions made about the personal independence payment (PIP) (which replaces disability living allowance (DLA)) are to be made direct to the Tribunal's national lodgement centre. This will be extended to appeals against all other decisions about DWP-administered benefits from October 2013.
	Direct lodgement will not, of itself, affect waiting times; it simply means that appeals will be lodged with the tribunal rather than with the other party to the appeal. However, direct lodgement is one of a range of initiatives through which HMCTS and DWP are working closely together to improve the process for decision-making and appeals.
	In April 2013 DWP introduced mandatory reconsideration of decisions made on claims for universal credit and PIP, which will be extended to all other DWP administered benefits and child maintenance cases from October 2013. The mandatory reconsideration process results in a linear, escalating process for claimants wishing to dispute decisions. The decision maker will contact the claimant to provide an explanation of the decision under dispute and encourage the claimant to provide any additional information or evidence that may change the decision. This will ensure DWP has an opportunity to resolve disputes at an early stage.
	The number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal nationally has risen significantly: from 339,200 in 2009-10 to 507,100 in 2012-13 (an increase of 49%). In addition to local initiatives, such as identifying additional hearing venues across HMCTS estate, and increasing the use of Saturday sessions, HMCTS continues to respond strongly at a national level to continue to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. Measures in place include ongoing recruitment of additional judges and medically qualified members, and the review and continuous improvement of administrative processes both internally and between HMCTS and DWP. All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly: from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,500 in 2012-13 (an increase of 66%).
	The average waiting time has fallen nationally from 23 weeks in 2011-12 to 18 weeks in 2012-13.

Victims: Surcharges

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much income the Victims Surcharge (a) generated and (b) was originally projected to generate in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Helen Grant: We want criminals to properly pay for their crimes and so in October 2012 we increased and extended the Victim Surcharge to ensure criminals pay for victims’ services, and that they pay more than they used to. These changes will help generate up to £50 million extra a year from offenders for victims’ services on top of the £66 million already spent by Government.
	Having previously only been ordered with fines at a flat rate of £15, until the reforms were introduced last October, receipts from the Victim Surcharge were dependant on the number of fines issued by the courts.
	In 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 the Victim Surcharge raised £10.5 million, £10.3 million and £10.5 million respectively.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of claimants have appealed successfully against the original Atos determination of their capacity to work in each year since 2009.

Helen Grant: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA), decisions in which the work capability assessment (WCA) undertaken by Atos is a key factor, rather than appeals against WCA decisions themselves or Atos themselves. HMCTS does not, therefore, hold the information requested.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Egypt

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the UK gave recognition to the current administration of Egypt.

Alistair Burt: We recognise states not governments, and we will work with the authorities in Egypt. We have stressed the need for a swift return to democratic processes and dialogue with all sides.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all its employees. The following table shows the amounts spent by the FCO's central diversity and equality team and the staffing costs for that team over the last three years.
	
		
			  Cost of activities (£) Staff costs (£) Staff (full-time equivalent) 
			 2010-11 115,031 98,671 2 
			 2011-12 174,118 98,202 2 
			 2012-13 27,374 111,465 3 
		
	
	Diversity and equality considerations are factored into a wide range of aspects of the FCO's work as an employer, as a provider of services to British people around the world and in the development and delivery of aspects of foreign policy. The figures in this table do not include spending and staff costs for all these activities, for which data is not held centrally, nor for the costs of individual reasonable adjustments for officers with a disability under the Equality Act 2010. The FCO publishes an annual Equality Report which provides information about the diversity and makeup of our staff, as required by the Equality Act 2010.

EU Budget

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which of the last 20 years the auditors of the EU have refused to approve the EU accounts; and what the reasons for such refusals were in each case.

Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	For the last 18 consecutive years the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has not been able to give a positive statement of assurance on the spending of EU funds, due to material error being found in EU budget payments. The ECA requires an error rate of less than 2% before declaring the EU budget to be free from material error.

Grant Thornton

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) did not have any contracts or spend with Grant Thornton in the financial years from 2007-08 to 2012-13.

Hamas

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on negotiating with Hamas.

Alistair Burt: Our policy on Hamas is clear: We do not have any direct contact with Hamas. Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel, and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged.

Hezbollah

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the implications of Hezbollah activities for British interests in the Middle East.

Alistair Burt: We have condemned Hezbollah’s acknowledged military involvement in Syria. It is prolonging the Assad regime's brutal repression of the Syrian people and, by undermining Lebanon's agreed policy of disassociation from the Syria conflict, risks destabilising Lebanon. We also remain very concerned by continued reports of transfers of conventional weapons from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including Hezbollah’s own claims that it possesses significant military capabilities. Any such transfers would be in violation of Security Council resolution 1701 and would pose a threat to Lebanese and regional stability.

Hezbollah

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on adding Hezbollah to the EU's list of recognised terrorist organisations.

Alistair Burt: We firmly believe that the evidence indicating Hezbollah’s Military Wing as a terrorist organisation, and an organisation that has committed terrorism on EU soil, to be compelling. This is why we believe that their formal listing by the EU as a terrorist organisation is fully justified. We continue to work closely with EU countries on this issue and want to reach a robust, collective EU position. Ministerial colleagues, senior officials and I continue to have the necessary discussions with our EU counterparts to achieve this aim.

Iran

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of links between the Iranian Government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Alistair Burt: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a military force created to defend the principles of the Islamic Revolution. It sits alongside Iran's regular military under a combined command structure of which the Supreme Leader is Commander-in-Chief. It has significant political, defence, and economic links and influence. Many politicians and officials are serving or former IRGC members. The most senior IRGC commanders have particularly close contact with the Supreme Leader.

Israel

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of trade between the UK and Israel in the first quarter of 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Our bilateral trade has consistently been in excess of £2 billion over the last 10 years and should reach £4 billion this year. Between January and April 2013, the UK exported £482 million of goods, a decrease of 10% on the same period in 2012. Between January and April 2013, the UK imported £1,103 million of goods, an increase of 47% on the same period in 2012.

Israel

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on public campaigns for boycotting Israeli produce, universities and speakers.

Alistair Burt: We do not agree with many of Israel's actions with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and do not hesitate to express strong views whenever we feel it necessary. At the same time, we enjoy a close and productive relationship with Israel which enables us to express our views at senior levels very frankly. It is our assessment that boycotts of Israel would lessen this influence, not increase it, and would not promote the urgent progress towards a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which we want to see. We view with concern campaigns Israeli speakers at higher education institutions.

Mali

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of European Union Training Mission Mali.

Andrew Robathan: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) receives weekly reports from the Mission Commander and UK personnel within the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Mali. Through these means, the MOD is able to monitor the efficacy of the mission against the agreed political objectives set out in the mission's Crisis Management Concept.
	To date, the EUTM Mali has trained the first of four battalions specified in the mission mandate. This first battalion consisted of approximately 650 personnel and completed its training in early June.
	Currently, around 700 soldiers of the second battalion to be trained are in the process of reporting to the training camp.
	Our current assessment is that the mission is delivering against its objectives. However, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the trained troops on operations as they have only recently deployed forward.

Occupied Territories

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on a boycott of settlement goods from the West Bank.

Alistair Burt: We understand the concerns of people who do not wish to purchase goods exported from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It was in order to enable consumers to make a more fully informed decision concerning the products they buy that, in December 2009, the UK introduced voluntary guidelines to enable produce from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories to be specifically labelled as such. We welcome Baroness Ashton's commitment to work with fellow Commissioners to prepare EU-wide guidelines on the labelling of settlement produce. These are an important step to ensure correct and coherent implementation of EU consumer protection and labelling legislation, which is in fulfilment of our previous commitments and is fully consistent with long-standing policy in relation to settlements. But there are currently no plans for EU or domestic legislation to ban the import of settlement products. We have received no representations from Palestinian workers in the West Bank either calling for, or opposing; a boycott of settlement produce.

Occupied Territories

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on campaigns for boycotting settlement produce in the west bank; and what representations he has received from Palestinian workers in the west bank on their opposition to boycotts of settlement produce.

Alistair Burt: We understand the concerns of people who do not wish to purchase goods exported from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It was in order to enable consumers to make a more fully informed decision concerning the products they buy that, in December 2009, the UK introduced voluntary guidelines to enable produce from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories to be specifically labelled as such. We welcome Baroness Ashlon's commitment to work with fellow Commissioners to prepare EU-wide guidelines on the labelling of settlement produce. These are an important step to ensure correct and coherent implementation of EU consumer protection and labelling legislation, which is in fulfilment of our previous commitments and is fully consistent with long-standing policy in relation to settlements. But there are currently no plans for EU or domestic legislation to ban the import of settlement products. We have received no representations from Palestinian workers in the west bank either calling for, or opposing, a boycott of settlement produce.

Official Cars

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which officials of his Department are entitled to use a car from the Government car pool.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials do not use the Government Car Service.
	The FCO provides internal guidance to staff on use of public transport and taxis. The London Car Service, a small pool of cars operated by FCO Services, is also used by certain senior officials including the Permanent Under-Secretary.

Official Cars

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials of his Department used Government cars in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials do not use the Government Car Service.
	The FCO provides internal guidance to staff on use of public transport and taxis. The London Car Service, a small pool of cars operated by FCO Services, is also used by certain senior officials including the Permanent Under-Secretary.

Official Cars

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department were entitled to use the Government car pool in each year since 2009.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials do not use the Government Car Service.
	The FCO provides internal guidance to staff on use of public transport and taxis. The London Car Service, a small pool of cars operated by FCO Services, is also used by certain senior officials including the permanent under-secretary.

Travel

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many officials in his Department travelled business class by train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost was in each such year;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department travelled by economy class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year;
	(3)  how many officials in his Department travelled by first class train in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the cost to the public purse was in each such year;
	(4)  how many officials of his Department travelled economy class by aeroplane in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year;
	(5)  how many officials of his Department travelled first class by aeroplane in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2008-09; and what the total cost was of such travel in each such year;
	(6)  how many officials of his Department travelled business class by aeroplane in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and what the total cost was in each year.

Alistair Burt: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1055W.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to commission further analysis of the economic impact of air passenger duty on the tourist industry in the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review and considers them in the round. The Government has limited the rise in air passenger duty (APD) to inflation over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13. Budget 2013 set out rates from April 2014, which will also only rise in line with inflation, ensuring that level of APD will again remain constant in real terms.

Bank Services

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people without access to basic banking facilities in each parliamentary constituency in the UK; and what plans his Department has to reduce this number.

Sajid Javid: The Government do not collect this data.
	The UK's basic bank account policy has been successful in driving down the number of individuals without access to such accounts within the UK. The Government is continuing to work with UK industry on access to bank accounts ahead of the introduction of universal credit and has recognised the recommendations of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards regarding UK basic bank accounts.
	The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards recommended that the major banks come to a voluntary agreement on minimum standards for basic bank accounts, including the free use of the ATM network.

Civil Servants: Pay

Tom Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual pay settlements in the Civil Service were between 1983 and 1997.

Danny Alexander: This information is not readily available. Accessing it would impose disproportionate cost to the Department.

Day Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government has allocated in each of the last five years to programmes to support families to meet (a) the cost of childcare and (b) the cost of care of adult children or other family members.

Sajid Javid: The Government holds the following information on budget allocations or where these are not produced, actual expenditure over the last five financial years.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Programme 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Childcare element of working tax credits 1,567 1,618 1,548 1,217 n/a 
			 Employer-Supported Childcare(1) 400 460 530 670 640 
			 Spending by local authorities on free early education for three-four year olds(2) — — — 1,796 1,883 
			 Spending by local authorities on free early education for two year olds 17 58 67 64 296 
			 Spending by local authorities on Adult Social Care (cash terms)(3, 4, 5) 13,850 14,460 14,610 14,750 n/a 
			 (1) These figures include childcare vouchers and directly contracted childcare but not workplace nurseries. (2) A new method for LAs to fund providers of free early education was introduced in 2011, because of the way data was collected before this change it is not possible to obtain complete data on free early education spend prior to 2011-12. (3) It is for local authorities to determine the allocation of expenditure across services provided at a local level; figures for adult social care are therefore actual expenditure rather than an allocation.. (4) Figures for adult social care are collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSGC). They do not take into account funding transferred from the NHS to local authorities to support adult social care services. Expenditure data for 2012-13 is not yet available. (5) Expenditure on disability and carers' benefits is in addition to this.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Sajid Javid: In common with other Government Departments HM Treasury seeks to promote equality of opportunity for all its employees.
	Table 1 gives the total spend by HM Treasury in each of the last three financial years on promoting equality and diversity.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			  £ 
			 2010-11 139,465 
			 2011-12 96,663 
			 2012-13 (1)56,018 
			 (1) In 2010-11 and 2011-12 the salary cost for a support worker for a employee with a disability was met form the diversity budget. In 2012-13 this cost (HM Treasury range C, salary range £21,837-£27,970) was met from the employee's team budget. 
		
	
	The spend, detailed in Table 1, is from the diversity budget and includes funding for reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities as required by the disability section of the Equality Act.
	In addition to the spend detailed in Table 1, staff costs on promoting equality and diversity are (i) one full-time equivalent employee at HM Treasury range D/D2 (in pay range £31,000 to £45,000) and (ii) from April 2013, 20% of an HR business partner leading on diversity at HM Treasury range E (in pay range £45,283-£64,498).

Government Departments: Assets

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how Government Departments are incentivised to offer up assets for disposal and complete sales rapidly to contribute to debt reduction; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Government is committed to ensuring the effective and efficient management of publicly owned assets, including assessing options for disposal. Departments are permitted to retain up to 120% of the asset sales proceeds that they have negotiated with HM Treasury as part of the spending round.
	In ‘Investing in Britain's Future’, published on 27 June, the Government announced an ambitious target for central Government to deliver at least £15 billion of asset sales between 2015 and 2020. To support the delivery of this target, the Government also announced the intention to implement a series of policy changes, including improved incentives for central Government Departments to ensure efficient use of assets. Further details on these policies will be provided at autumn statement 2013.

Infrastructure

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications there have been to the UK Guarantees scheme; and how many such applications were accepted.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 16 July 2013
	Over 125 inquiries have been received to date. More than 25 projects, worth £13.5 billion, are prequalified in addition to Hinkley Point C for a Guarantee. A further nine projects that prequalified for the scheme have found, or are close to finding, financing without the need for a Guarantee.

NHS: Pay

Tom Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the annual pay settlements in the NHS were between 1983 and 1997;
	(2)  what the annual pay settlements for doctors and consultants were between 1983 and 1997.

Danny Alexander: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Hospital Medical Staff Staff covered by NHS Pay Review Body, or predecessors (non-medical) 
			  Percentage Description Percentage Description 
			 1983-84 6 In full(1) (2)— (2)— 
			 1984-85 6.9 Staged(3) 7.8 In full 
			 1985-86 6.3 From 1 June 12.1 Staged(4) 
			 1986-87 7.6 From 1 June 8.2 from 1 July 
			 1987-88 7.7 In full 9.1 In full 
			 1988-89 7.9 In full 8.8 In full 
			 1989-90 8.2 In full 7.7 In full 
			 1990-91 9.5 to 11 Staged(5) 10.1 Staged(6) 
			 1991-92 9.5 to 11 Staged(7) 9.8 Staged(8) 
			 1992-93 5.5 to 8.5 In full 6.3 In full 
			 1993-94 1.5 In full 1.5 In full 
			 1994-95 3.0 In full 3.0 In full 
			 1995-96 2.5 to 2.8 In full 1.5 to 3.0 In full 
			 1996-97 3.8 to 6.8 Staged(9) 2.0 In full 
			 1997-98 3.4 Staged(10) 3.3 Staged(11) 
			 (1) In addition, 3% abated from 1982 recommendations restored from January 1984. (2) Formerly-named bodies of National Health Service Pay Review Body first established for 1984-85 pay round. (3) 3% from 1 April; balance from 1 November. (4) 5% from 1 April; balance from 1 February. (5) 7.5% from 1 April; balance from 1 December. (6) 7% from 1 April; balance from 1 January. (7) 7.5% from 1 April; balance from 1 December. (8) 7.5% from 1 April; balance from 1st December. (9) 1% held back to 1 December. (10) 2% from 1 April; balance from 1 December. (11) 2.8% from 1 April; balance from 1 December. Source: Department of Health

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding in (a) capital DEL, (b) resource DEL and (c) financial transactions has been allocated to the Scottish Government in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Danny Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 17 and 24 June 2013, Official Report, columns 455W and 84W.
	Information relating to 2015-16 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 2015-16 
			  £ million 
			 Capital DEL 2,964 
			 Of which:  
			 Financial transactions 311 
			 Resource DEL 26,686

Smuggling: Tobacco

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on the Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; how many of his Department's staff worked on implementing the strategy in each such year; and how many such staff were engaged in (i) detection, (ii) intelligence-gathering and analysis, (iii) investigations and (iv) the provision of legal advice.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) total expenditure on tobacco work was £68.918 million in 2011-12 and £67.641 million in 2012-13. This includes administration and policy, as well as enforcement.
	It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested as HMRC does not record the number of staff spent working on the tackling tobacco strategy separately. To the extent that the Government is able to breakdown the number of staff engaged on tobacco related activity this is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Full-time equivalent 
			 HMRC activity 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Investigation (includes detection, criminal investigation, and specialist civil investigation) 541 556 
			 Risk and Intelligence 176 184 
			 Other 60 37 
			 Total 777 777 
			 Note: Estimated figure 
		
	
	These figures represent HMRC's best estimate of the way resources were used in the years specified, bearing in mind that staff employed on anti-fraud activity often cover a number of different taxes and commodities. HMRC is unable to disaggregate time spent on the provision of legal advice on tobacco from time spent on other advisory work.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department follows in determining whether statistics in answers to parliamentary questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a link to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much (a) he and (b) officials in his Department spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), has received media training. It took place on 31 July 2012 at a cost of £2,160.00 inclusive of VAT.
	DECC has not paid for any external assistance to prepare for appearances before select committees.

Electricity Generation

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of how much capacity will be required to fill the gap until the Capacity Market begins operating; and for how long mothballed capacity will be needed.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 16 July 2013
	We consider that there will be adequate electricity capacity before the Capacity Market begins operating.
	Ofgem's recent report shows that in some scenarios capacity could fall to uncomfortable levels if no further action were taken.
	This is why Ofgem is consulting on whether to enable National Grid to develop new services to balance the electricity system in middle of the decade. If needed, these services would provide consumers with additional safeguards against any increased risk to mid-decade security of supply.
	The balancing services could be initiated from the winter of 2014-15 and operate in the period before the Capacity Market begins to deliver capacity (from 1 October 2018). Decisions on whether to allow National Grid to procure such services will be taken by Ofgem based on an assessment of need.
	DECC fully supports Ofgem's consultation, and has liaised with Ofgem and National Grid on the development of the proposals.

Energy

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when Ofgem will be provided with powers over the Third Party Intermediate Market.

Michael Fallon: Through the Energy Bill we are clarifying that Ofgem's power to apply to the Secretary of State to make specified activities licensable, provided they are connected with the supply of electricity/gas, covers the activities of Third Party Intermediaries. It is a decision for Ofgem as to if and when they make such an application.
	Ofgem have launched a piece of work to review the regulatory framework for Third Party Intermediaries which will inform such a decision. Their consultation exploring market issues and options for the sector can be found at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/rmr/Documents1/TPI%20con%20doc.pdf

Energy Companies Obligation: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency have been identified as eligible for the Energy Company Obligation.

Gregory Barker: There are three elements to the Energy Company Obligation, with different eligibility criteria:
	The Carbon Saving Obligation—under which any solid waif property or one with hard to treat cavities, anywhere in GB, is potentially eligible for treatment;
	The Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO)—under which vulnerable customers on a range of benefits are eligible for treatment. We estimate there are around 160,000 households in Scotland eligible under the HHCRO;
	The Carbon Saving Communities Obligation—under which properties located in the 15% lowest income areas (data zones in Scotland) are potentially eligible for treatment. There are around 970 eligible areas in Scotland of which 18 are located in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. In meeting this obligation companies are also required to provide a certain level of assistance to vulnerable customers living in rural areas.

Energy: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he or his officials have (a) made and (b) seen of the average annual energy bill for a typical family living in London in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: Average annual household spend on fuel and power in London is shown in the following table. This represents the average actual spend by households, and includes spend on all fuel types:
	
		
			 Year Average annual spend on energy (£) 
			 2009-11 1,082 
		
	
	These data are taken from the Living Costs and Food survey (LCFS), run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data are published in the form of three year averages, due to the small sample sizes involved in this survey. The 2009-11 period is the latest for which data is available. The spend data shown are an average for all households, and do not specifically focus on families, as data at this level of detail is not available.

Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from (a) British producers, (b) small and medium-sized enterprises and (c) producers which met British buying standards in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: DECC's catering service is delivered through a contract procured by the Department for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
	(a) The proportion of food procured from British producers was 65%
	(b) The proportion of food procured from small and medium-sized enterprises was 44%
	(c) All food procured meets British buying standards.

Green Deal Scheme

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many people he expects to sign up to Green Deal packages in the financial years (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15;
	(2)  how many installations he expects to take place under the Green Deal scheme in the financial years (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal/ECO final Impact Assessment published in June 2012 expected 535,000 households to install packages of energy efficiency measures following a Green Deal assessment between 2013 and March 2015 (it did not split out different years' uptake into financial years).
	Some of these packages will be partially or fully funded by Green Deal finance; some will be funded through other sources of finance, such as householders' savings.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42984/5533-final-stage-impact-assessment-for-the-green-deal-a.pdf

Moira Wallace

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  who was responsible for negotiations regarding the severance payment for Moira Wallace; and what role he played in these negotiations;
	(2)  whether the severance payment for Moira Wallace is consistent with other payments of this kind in (a) his Department and (b) other Government departments; and by what method such payments are calculated;
	(3)  whether (a) he or (b) anybody in his Department consulted the Cabinet Office before agreeing a severance deal with Moira Wallace;
	(4)  what the reasons are for Moira Wallace's (a) £262,185 compensation for severance and (b) £209,783 discretionary payment; and whether these payments met the guidelines from the Cabinet Office designed to reduce civil servants' severance payments.

Gregory Barker: The exit package for the former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change was within the provisions of the reformed civil service compensation scheme as provided for in legislation. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), was advised of the payment which was agreed by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury as permissible within the rules of the scheme. The calculations used for Moira Wallace's severance payment are consistent with other payments of this kind both in DECC and other Government Departments.

Moira Wallace

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change against what criteria the performance of Miss Moira Wallace as Permanent Secretary to his Department was assessed.

Gregory Barker: Permanent Secretaries are subject to the same performance management regime as the rest of the senior civil service and their performance is assessed, including against their objectives, by the independent Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee. The objectives for all permanent secretaries for 2011-12 covered the following areas: setting direction, delivering results, developing people and living our values. As part of the Government's commitment to greater transparency, all Permanent Secretary individual objectives were published for the first time in December 2012.

Moira Wallace

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason Moira Wallace resigned from her position as Permanent Secretary to his Department.

Gregory Barker: Moira Wallace left DECC on 31 October 2012 after four years working in the department. Four years is generally considered the norm for a permanent secretary posting. As there were no suitable alternative roles available at that level for Ms Wallace to move to she left the civil service in accordance with the terms of voluntary exits under the Civil Service Compensation scheme.

Power Stations

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the installed capacity was of each power station (a) commissioned and (b) which began generating in each year since 1989 for which data is available.

Michael Fallon: The installed capacity of each operational power station (owned or operated by major power producers) that began generating, since 1989, and until May 2012, can be found in table DUKES 5.11, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
	No distinction is made between the year in which commissioning began and the year in which normal generation began. Data to May 2013 will be published on 25 July 2013.
	Note:
	The installed capacity given is as at the end of May 2012; the installed capacity of some sites may have changed since commissioning, while others (e.g. large wind farms) may not yet be at final capacity.

Redundancy Pay

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on the overall departmental budget of severance payments to officials in his Department.

Gregory Barker: The overall departmental budget has been set through the spending review process. Any severance payments to officials have been met from within existing administration budgets.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many apprenticeships her Department offered to people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 21 and (c) 22 to 26 years old in each year since 2010.

Theresa Villiers: My Department has not offered any apprenticeships since 2010.

Apprentices

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategies she has to create apprenticeships in her Department; and what plans she has to promote such strategies.

Theresa Villiers: As a small policy Department, with a full-time staff in the region of 165, there are limited opportunities to offer apprenticeships in the NIO. Staffing levels are kept under constant review and posts are filled, normally by way of secondments or on-loan arrangements, when there is a sound business case for doing so. Should any apprenticeship opportunities arise within my Department, they would be advertised in the usual way via the Civil Service Jobs website.

Grant Thornton

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008.

Theresa Villiers: Because of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, my Department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010; attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	My Department has not incurred any expenditure on contracts with Grant Thornton since 2010.

Public Bodies

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she has met the (a) Northern Ireland Equality Commission and (b) Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission since her appointment; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), met Professor Michael O'Flaherty, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, on 19 November 2012. We continue to liaise regularly with the Commission at both ministerial and official level on areas of mutual interest. Sponsorship and oversight of the Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland is in the main a matter for the devolved Administration. While neither the Secretary of State nor I have yet had the opportunity to meet the Commissioner we look forward to doing so.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many answers to parliamentary questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a weblink to a website in the last year;
	(2)  what guidance her Department follows in determining whether, when answers to parliamentary questions which include statistics, those statistics are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a weblink to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

Theresa Villiers: My Department's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W.

WALES

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many answers to parliamentary questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a weblink to a website in the last year;
	(2)  what guidance his Department follows in determining whether, when answers to parliamentary questions which include statistics, those statistics are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a weblink to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

Stephen Crabb: My Department's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W.

SCOTLAND

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  how many answers to parliamentary questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a weblink to a website in the last year;
	(2)  what guidance his Department follows in determining whether, when answers to parliamentary questions which include statistics, those statistics are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a weblink to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

David Mundell: My Department's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W.

EDUCATION

Children’s Centres: West Midlands

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many new children’s centres have opened in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) Selly Oak constituency since 2010; and what funding his Department has provided to such centres in each year since 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: According to information supplied by local authorities, no new Sure Start children's centres have opened in the West Midlands, Birmingham or Selly Oak since 2010.
	Funding for Sure Start children's centres is included in the Early Intervention Grant. Since funding decisions are devolved to local authorities it is not possible for us to provide a breakdown of funding by constituency or for individual centres.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Elizabeth Truss: During the last three years the Department has spent the following amount fulfilling its legal duties as an employer on equality and diversity:
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure (£) 
			 2010-11 152,605 
			 2011-12 164,981 
			 2012-13 184,953 
		
	
	Most of this expenditure relates to providing reasonable adjustments for staff considered disabled under the Equality Act, for example: providing assistive software and related training for staff with a visual impairment, and adjustment of office equipment or furniture for staff with limited mobility.
	Equality and diversity activity, including promotion, is incorporated in work across the Department, but this information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Free Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free schools did not have registration recommended in their pre-opening Ofsted inspection in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Edward Timpson: Ofsted inspected all new free schools opening in 2011 and 2012; all received a recommendation for independent school registration. The Ofsted pre-registration inspections of free schools opening in 2013 are still taking place.

ICT: Curriculum

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, 24 April 2013, Official Report, column 986, which employers and leading companies have contributed to the new computer science curriculum; which are engaged in helping schools to implement that curriculum; and how companies who have not been consulted can get involved.

Elizabeth Truss: The new computing curriculum, which includes content relating to computer science and programming at each key stage, has been developed in association with experts from a wide range of organisations led by the British Computer Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. This includes commercial companies such as Microsoft and Metaswitch; and bodies representing IT sector employers—e-Skills UK and Intellect.
	The curriculum development process also involved representatives from non-commercial organisations including universities, subject associations, learned societies and schools. A list of all of those consulted in the process of developing the draft published in February has been placed in the House Library, and is also available on the Department for Education website at:
	https://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/l/lists%20of%20commentators%20-%20final.pdf
	Some of the organisations involved in developing the new computing curriculum are already working independently of the Government to help schools teach computer science and programming. For example, Microsoft is promoting its free visual programming language Kodu to schools, which enables primary school children to learn some of the basics of programming. E-Skills UK has worked with several major employers—including BT, IBM and John Lewis—to develop the ‘Behind the Screen’ initiative, which teaches key stage 4 pupils how to apply their knowledge and skills in computer science and information technology to address problems in real-world settings.
	We are keen to see a wide range of organisations involved in supporting schools to teach the new curriculum. By reducing unnecessary Government intervention in this area, we are providing space and opportunity to any companies and employers that want to help schools deliver the new programmes of study successfully.

Ofsted

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Ofsted inspectors were employed in each year between 2010 and 2013; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: This is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty's chief inspector, to write to the hon. Member. The response will also be placed in the House Library.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in Ashfield constituency are entitled to the pupil premium; and what assessment he has made of whether receipt of that premium has had a corresponding effect on levels of attainment.

David Laws: According to data held by the Department for Education 4,005 pupils in Ashfield schools were eligible for the pupil premium in 2012.
	The Department for Education publishes annual attainment data for disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium. Results for 2012, the first year to reflect the impact of a full year of pupil premium, showed a larger than expected narrowing of attainment gaps nationally for both key stage 2 and key stage 4.
	A copy of the key stage 2 and key stage 4 performance tables data on disadvantaged pupils for each school in Ashfield has been placed in the House Library.

Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many qualified teachers have left state-funded schools since 2010.

David Laws: The most recent information available on the number of qualified teachers leaving the state funded sector is for 2010-11. This was published on 17 July 2013 in Table C1 of the Additional Tables: SFR 15/2013 within the ‘School Workforce in England, November 2012’ Statistical First Release(1).
	The relevant table has been placed in the House Library.
	(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012

Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many qualified teachers below retirement age were teaching in schools other than in the state sector in each year since 2010.

David Laws: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what schools have been (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful in their application to be a national teaching school.

David Laws: The lists of the schools which have been previously successfully designated and the ones that have been unsuccessful in their application for national teaching school status have been placed in the House Library. Over 65% of schools have been successful in their application for teaching schools designation.
	Those schools on the successful list may not all remain designated as a national teaching school due to subsequent changes in their circumstances. To ensure that the teaching school designation retains its credibility and the programme delivers impact, we carefully review designations where a teaching school no longer meets the criteria, or appears to be failing to carry out the role as intended. This is done with sensitivity to each individual case and with great care. 4% of successfully designated schools have since either withdrawn or been de-designated. These schools are no longer published on the list of designated teaching schools which is available on the Department for Education website(1).
	Schools on the unsuccessful list and those that have been de-designated may re-apply for teaching schools designation. Over 30% of unsuccessful applicants have since re-applied and been successful for teaching school designation.
	(1) http://education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/index/support-for-schools/teachingschools.html

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Finance

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, columns 782-4W, on agriculture: finance, what the reasons are for the decrease in the level of funding for Central finance ongoing activity - CAP between 2009-10 and 2011-12.

David Heath: holding answer 24 June 2013
	The ‘Central finance ongoing activity—CAP’ figures relate to ‘Disallowance’ payments. These arise as a result of financial corrections applied by the European Commission where it takes the view that EU regulations for payments funded through European schemes, including the common agricultural policy (CAP), have not been applied correctly.
	Following the introduction of the new common agricultural policy, EU compliance audits across all member states had stalled for a number of years. This resulted in decisions, for example covering the single payment scheme (SPS) 2005 through to 2009, not being made until 2009-10 and 2010-11. This led to Disallowance penalties for four schemes years being accounted for in two years 2009-11. However in 2011-12, the opposite happened where further delays were experienced with the EU audit and decision making process for SPS schemes, resulting in a fall in expenditure recorded against CAP Disallowance.

Bees

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the speech of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord de Mauley of 28 June 2013, when his Department expects to (a) finish collecting the results of the urgent and comprehensive review of current policy on pollinators, (b) finalise the new National Pollinator Strategy and (c) begin implementing the National Pollinator Strategy.

David Heath: As announced by my noble Friend, Lord de Mauley, at the Bee Summit hosted by Friends of the Earth on the 28 June: (a) we are hosting a series of workshops to collate information on the latest scientific thinking and policy initiatives on pollinators. We aim to finish collecting the results of this review in November in time for; (b) the publication of the Pollinator Health Strategy before the end of 2013. A public consultation will be held on the strategy; and (c) we will implement priority actions of the finalised strategy from spring 2014 onwards.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's Consultation on a Draft Strategy for Achieving Officially Bovine Tuberculosis-Free Status for England published on 4 July 2013, for what reasons the UK is not following the approach used in the rest of the EU of only culling infected cattle when faced with a herd breakdown.

David Heath: In accordance with EU law, and in line with what happens in other member states, all cattle in England that react positively to a TB diagnostic test are compulsorily slaughtered. In cases where the TB problem in a herd is particularly severe or extensive, other cattle considered to be at high risk of being infected (or becoming infected) will also be removed and slaughtered.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's Consultation on a Draft Strategy for Achieving Officially Bovine Tuberculosis-Free Status for England published on 4 July 2013, for what reasons biosecurity measures will be voluntary; and what evidence was taken into account in the decision between a voluntary and mandatory approach.

David Heath: With regard to specific TB controls, including bio-security measures, I hope that DEFRA's consultation on a draft TB strategy will generate innovative ideas on how Government and industry can work in partnership to eradicate this devastating disease. No options are off the table. However, the business costs associated with a TB breakdown provide many farmers with the incentive to maintain good biosecurity measures voluntarily so as to reduce the risk of their herds contracting the disease.
	Mandatory biosecurity controls against TB are also in place—for example, cattle herds are regularly tested for the disease and if a herd owner fails to have a test completed on time cattle movement restrictions are applied immediately; tight movement restrictions are also applied on TB infected herds to minimise the risk of disease spread; and cattle moving from annually tested herds must be pre-movement tested.
	We are also working with industry to implement the recommendations of the Risk-Based Trading Group. This will involve putting in place measures that will better enable farmers to share TB history information at the point of sale to enable farmers to make informed risk-based decisions when purchasing cattle.
	When making a decision on whether to implement a mandatory approach the Government considers a range of evidence including the benefits and the costs.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether an evaluation of the incidence of TB in cattle in the badger cull pilot areas will be conducted during the pilot period.

David Heath: The main purpose of the pilots is not to determine the impact of badger culling on TB incidence in cattle. However, information on cattle TB incidence will continue to be collected from the pilot areas as part of DEFRA's ongoing TB surveillance programme. We are putting in place research that will examine this information as it becomes available, to evaluate the impact of the badger control policy. However, it will be a number of years before culling has an impact on cattle TB incidence.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how humaneness will be defined in his Department's terms of reference for the badger cull pilots.

David Heath: Independent monitoring will be undertaken to assess the humaneness, along with the effectiveness and safety, of controlled shooting during the pilots. The design of this monitoring has been overseen by an independent panel of experts, who have advised on the appropriate methods for monitoring, which will include field observations and post mortems. Further details of the monitoring protocols are available online at the following link and I have also placed copies in the library of the House:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/a-z/bovine-tb/badgers/badger-culling-pilots/

Dangerous Dogs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 447W, on dangerous dogs, if he will estimate the likely effect on the number of people being injured by dogs each year as a result of the proposed changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: We have not estimated the likely effect on the number of people injured by dogs every year once our proposals come into force.

Floods: Insurance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of flooding on insurance premiums of farmers whose (a) land, (b) livestock and (c) crops are in high risk flood areas.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has made no assessment of the effect of flooding on the insurance premiums of farmers whose land, livestock and crops are in high risk flood areas. Farmers have a wide range of successful risk and crisis management strategies at their disposal. These include weather insurance, diversification and ‘self-insurance’ through saving and borrowing.

Horses: Exports

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on negotiations on changes to the Tripartite Agreement on the movement of horses between France, Ireland and the UK.

David Heath: Officials and industry representatives from the signatory countries met in Dublin on 11 July and made encouraging progress toward changing the scope of the Tripartite Agreement (TPA). All three countries hope that it will be possible to ratify a new agreement in the autumn.
	At the meeting there was agreement in principle that the TPA should be limited to horses with a demonstrably high health status. A new agreement would be based on assurances provided by industry bodies through the verifiable observance of codes of practice or other established good practice.
	Changes to the TPA will be limited to the movement of horses between the UK and France and Ireland and France. All horse movements that fall outside the scope of a new TPA would need to be accompanied by an EU health certificate. The UK equine sector has been closely involved in these negotiations and we will write to interested organisations shortly with further details.

Pigs: Diseases

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent new strains of porcine epidemic diarrhoea from China and the US entering the UK.

David Heath: Porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) is not a notifiable disease in the EU, nor is it an OIE (the animal equivalent of the WHO) listed disease and as such there are no legislative measures in place to control it.
	China is not an approved country for the import of pigs into the EU and as such does not pose the UK a risk.
	EU legislation Regulation 102/2013 enabling import of live pigs into the EU from the USA, amending 2004/68/EC came into place on 4 February 2013. As such, this trade is not well developed, only two consignments, less than 100 animals in total, have been imported. All pigs imported from USA for breeding or production must have been isolated for 30 days prior to export and certified by a vet that within 24 hours prior to loading for export, they have been examined and show no clinical signs of any disease. In addition, on arrival into the EU they must remain on the destination premises for a minimum of 30 days before they can move to another holding, unless for slaughter. These import conditions help mitigate against PED entering the UK. Industry is aware of this new disease risk and is advised to consider where they source pigs from and any disease risks they may pose. Routine best practice biosecurity measures undertaken in the UK pig industry to prevent disease spread by fomites or mechanical means additionally reduce the risk of PED introduction.

Pigs: Diseases

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK pig sector of porcine epidemic diarrhoea from China and the US entering the UK.

David Heath: DEFRA undertakes routine scanning surveillance for the detection of new or re-emerging animal diseases that may pose a threat to animal health or public health. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency led Pig Species Expert Group (SEG) are aware of porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) and the emergence of a new virulent strain in the USA and China. The SEG routinely looks for changes in trends of disease diagnosed in Great Britain and also consider samples where it is has not been possible to reach a diagnosis through routine testing. Threats identified are then escalated to the Veterinary Risk Group for consideration and to the UK's four Chief Veterinary Officers. In this way, we can identify new diseases like PED that are not notifiable and do not require specific legislative control measures.
	As PED is not a notifiable disease, nor is it listed by the OIE (the animal equivalent of the WHO), DEFRA is not required to carry out an assessment of its impact. Working with the pig industry, the SEG can raise awareness of this disease to enable industry to ensure best practice biosecurity measures are in place. Indeed, the National Pig Association is at present raising awareness with its members of the need for strict biosecurity measures to support their disease prevention and control.

Rural Areas: Affordable Housing

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken in order to increase the provision of affordable housing in rural areas.

Richard Benyon: The Government believes that meeting the housing needs of rural communities is important. Local authorities are best placed to decide what development is suitable in rural communities and they should plan positively to meet local requirements for both affordable and market housing. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has lead responsibility for policy on housing provision. DEFRA officials work closely with DCLG officials to ensure that there is a proper understanding of the need for affordable housing in rural areas when developing policy initiatives.

Sky Lanterns

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to record injuries to livestock caused by the residue of Chinese lanterns; and how many reports of such injuries have been recorded in each local authority area in Cheshire in each of the last three years.

David Heath: The Department does not routinely record specific injuries to livestock nor do we receive regular reports on such injuries from local authorities. Recognising the serious concerns that people have about the possible impacts of sky lanterns, we have encouraged the farming industry to gather evidence. In order to further improve the evidence-base DEFRA and the Welsh Government commissioned an independent report on sky lanterns. Published in May 2013, this report brings together and evaluates the available evidence, including evidence presented by the farming sector and through stakeholder surveys. While farmers have lost livestock due to ingested wire from sky lanterns, the evidence from this independent report suggests that any widespread risk of injury and death to livestock is low.
	The independent report is available from the following link:
	http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu& Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=18402&From Search=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=lanterns&SortString=Project Code&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Accountancy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much the Government Equalities Office spent on contracts with (a) Deloitte, (b) Pricewater- houseCoopers, (c) KPMG and (d) Ernst and Young in each year since 2008.

Helen Grant: The amount spent with each of these firms is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Deloitte 160,514 108,789 — — 112,800 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 58,581 153,459 41,984 35,990 15,570 
			 KPMG — — — 2,872,170 2,513,180 
			 Ernst and Young — — 1,302,000 773,320 — 
		
	
	The ongoing expenditure with KPMG is for support to Broadband Delivery UK. Ernst and Young was predominantly paid for advisory work on the sale of the Tote, and the costs were recovered from the sale proceeds. Deloitte worked with the Finance Team in 2012-13 to deliver the first group financial statements.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much (a) she and (b) officials in the Government Equalities Office spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Neither myself nor my officials spent anything on external assistance when appearing before select committees or on contact with the media on behalf of DCMS, which includes the GEO.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much has been spent by the Government Equalities Office (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by her Department for this purpose.

Helen Grant: DCMS is mindful of the need to promote equality and draw the best from a diverse workforce. While there are individuals who have responsibility for promoting equality and diversity—this is in addition to their other duties. The Department is unable to break down the figures to show how much was spent on the equality and diversity aspect of their role. The Government Equalities Office works to take action on the Government's commitment to remove barriers to equality and help to build a fairer society, leading on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equalities. In this broader sense the whole of the staff of GEO and its programme spend is devoted to promoting equality and diversity.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the Equalities and Human Rights Commission staffing levels were (a) in May 2010, (b) in May 2011, (c) in May 2012, (d) in May 2013 and (e) at the end of the current spending review round.

Helen Grant: holding answer 9 July 2013
	Along with all Government Departments and Government-funded bodies, funding was reduced at the time of the 2010 comprehensive spending review in order to deal with the enormous economic deficit left by the last Government. In May 2012, the Government set out a package of legislative and non-legislative reforms to make the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) a valued and respected national institution. The Commission's past poor financial and control record indicated that these measures were necessary and our reforms are producing results. We are clear that these improvements are consistent with the EHRC maintaining its ‘A’ status with the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, and this status has recently been confirmed. EHRC’s staffing levels for the dates in the question are as follows:
	
		
			 EHRC staffing 
			  FTE Headcount 
			 May 2010 510.24 536 
			 May 2011 440.53 465 
			 May 2012 319.94 338 
			 May 2013 211.35 223 
			 Estimated 2014-15 186 n/a

Married People

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will put forward amendments to the Same Sex Marriage Bill in the House of Lords to ensure that the word wife will continue to be used in statute and other official contexts to refer only to the female spouse of a heterosexual marriage and will not be redefined subsequent to the Same Sex Marriage Act to include any partner in a same sex marriage.

Helen Grant: The Government do not intend to amend the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in this way. The word "wife" will continue to refer to a married woman, regardless of the sex of her spouse. The Bill completed its Third Reading in the House of Lords on 15 July.

Newspaper Press

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will support the No More Page 3 campaign.

Helen Grant: holding answer 12 June 2013
	Regulatory changes to ban page 3 would amount to content regulation of the press, and Government do not believe this is the right response. However, I understand the strength of feeling about how women are represented in the media. That is why Government has implemented its Body Confidence campaign—and we are working with industry on these issues. This year my ministerial colleagues and I have met with a number of organisations that aim to challenge how women are portrayed in the media, and we will continue to discuss how we can best support healthy and respectful representations

Newspaper Press

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if the Government Equalities Office will investigate the effect of topless modelling in newspapers on the negative representation of women in the media.

Helen Grant: holding answer 12 June 2013
	There are no plans to investigate the effect of topless modelling in newspapers on the representation of women in the media. However, I understand the strength of feeling about how women are represented in the media. That is why Government has implemented its Body Confidence campaign—and we are working with industry on these issues. This year my ministerial colleagues and I have met with a number of organisations that aim to challenge how women are portrayed in the media, and we will continue to discuss how we can best support healthy and respectful representations.

Northcote House

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Government Equalities Office used the facilities at Northcote House, Sunningdale Park, Berkshire in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: DCMS, which includes the GEO, uses a variety of locations for training and conference purposes. However the Department does not hold data in such a way as to identify the specific information requested.

Public Appointments

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to increase the representation of (a) women, (b) people with disabilities and (c) ethnic minorities on the boards of public bodies falling within the Government Equalities Office's area of responsibility.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 11 July 2013
	I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	This Government is committed to increasing the diversity on public Boards and we are taking this forward in a number of different ways.
	Earlier this year the Centre for Public Appointments, based in the Cabinet Office, published its own strategy to increase the diversity of public appointments. And last month the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), hosted a high-level networking event to help to increase the diversity of our Boards.
	DCMS aims to attract people from a range of different backgrounds, including from under-represented groups. It also continues to promote vacancies though new routes to encourage applications from the broadest range of candidates. The DCMS approach is working; for the year to March 2013 it increased the proportion of women appointed to DCMS boards from 31% to 38% and it is committed to achieving 50%.

Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many senior civil servants left the Government Equalities Office and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was.

Helen Grant: As a result of the machinery of government change in September 2012, the Government Equalities office transferred from the Home Office to DCMS.
	Table 1 shows the number of senior civil servants who left the Department under a voluntary exit scheme in each of the last three financial years and Table 2 the value of such payments by cost band.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			 Financial year 2010-11 2011 -12 2012-13 
			 Number of leavers in senior civil service grades 8 3 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2 
			 Cost band of such payments 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 <£10,000 — — — 
			 £10,000 to £25,000 — — — 
			 £25,000 to £50,000 2 — — 
			 £50,000 to £100,000 1 — — 
			 £100,000 to £150,000 4 1 — 
			 £150,000 to £200,000 1 2 2 
			 £200,000 to £250,000 — — 1 
		
	
	As part of a money saving exercise, in line with the rest of Government, DCMS has been offering, in cyclical phases, the opportunity for civil servants to take voluntary redundancy. DCMS does not hold central records for our bodies. Figures for the Government Equalities Office, which joined my DCMS in September 2012 are held by the Home office, its previous parent Department.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many answers by his Office to parliamentary questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a link to a website in the last year.

Nicholas Clegg: My Department's answers to parliamentary questions are a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 12 February 2013, Official Report , column 649W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the full cost to the Exchequer of restoring funding to the Arts Council to the level it would have been without the Spending Rounds of both 2010 and 2013 in the fiscal year 2015-16.

Edward Vaizey: ACE's funding before SR10 was £450.8 million and that a 2015-16 budget of £372.8 million was set in the recent SR13 announcements, so the cost to the Exchequer of restoring funding to the same level as in SR10 would be £78 million.

Broadband

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the broadband coverage targets are for each (a) local authority, (b) nation of the UK and (c) contract held by BD:UK

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 11 July 2013
	The Government made funding allocations to local authorities and the devolved Administrations based on the estimated minimum amount of Government and locally matched funding that was required to provide 90% of premises in the UK with superfast broadband availability and to provide universal standard broadband availability. Local authorities and the devolved Administrations have undertaken project procurements using this funding, and have required suppliers, to provide bids to achieve the maximum possible coverage. The only contract that BDUK has with broadband suppliers is the BDUK Broadband Framework Agreement This does not specify a specific superfast broadband coverage target.

Broadband

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2012, Official Report, column 113W, on broadband, what her Department recommends as the optimum broadband speed to enable businesses and education institutions in this country to match competitor companies in other countries.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has not made a recommendation on a specific optimum broadband speed for businesses and education institutions as speeds will vary depending on operational needs. The Department for Education has however issued guidance on buying broadband services to schools and academies which includes the recommendation that they should carefully consider the type of connectivity they may require depending on their particular needs.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the data showing where the last 10 per cent of the country not being included in the BDUK roll out will be.

Edward Vaizey: The data on the coverage of the rural broadband projects which have funding from Broadband Delivery UK is held by the local authorities and Devolved Administrations who are responsible for the contracts, and who may make information available on the extent of coverage by agreement with their supplier.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds have been spent to date on the super connected cities programme.

Edward Vaizey: To date, no funding has been drawn down by the cities from the Super Connected Cities programme. Work is underway to establish confirmed grant agreements with the cities by the autumn, at which point funding will be made available.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to the public purse was of people seconded to local authorities to help with the roll-out of broadband in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and what the cost of such secondments is expected to be in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Edward Vaizey: BDUK has not seconded any people to local authorities.

Broadband Delivery UK

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 8 November 2012, Official Report, columns 816-7W, on Broadband Delivery UK, what the total cost of external consultants employed by Broadband Delivery UK between 30 September 2012 and 30 June 2013 was; and what she anticipates this cost to be from (a) 1 July 2013 to 31 March 2014, (b) 2014-15, (c) 2015-16 and (d) 2016-17.

Edward Vaizey: The total cost of external consultants (including interims) employed by Broadband Delivery UK between 30 September and 30 June was approximately £5.95 million. Further spend on consultants from July 2013 onwards will depend on the outcome of the review announced in the spending review which aims to give BDUK greater operational freedom and an enhanced delivery focus, and to equip it with the commercial skills that it needs.

Grant Thornton

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008.

Hugh Robertson: The total amount the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, spent on contracts with Grant Thornton, in each year since 2008, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Total spent (£) 
			 2008 — 
			 2009 — 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 170,375.00 
			 2011 639,404.93 
			 2012 480334.09 
			 2013 327350.66 
			 Total 1,617,964.68

Pornography: Internet

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has received reports on the discussions that the UK video on demand regulator ATVOD is having with UK financial institutions to consider whether it is possible to block payments from the UK to the operators of non-UK websites which appear to be breaking the Obscene Publications Acts by allowing children to access explicit hardcore pornography; what the Government's policy is on this matter; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: I welcome the work that the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD) has undertaken in this area to explore with UK financial institutions and card companies the possibility of declining to process payments to websites operating from outside the EU which allow under 18s in the UK to view explicit pornographic content. The protection of children online is of the utmost importance and we will watch this work with interest. ATVOD provided a report on this area to the UKCCIS executive board on July 8th 2013 and we look forward to receiving further reports on their progress in due course.

Public Appointments

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to increase the representation of (a) women, (b) people with disabilities and (c) ethnic minorities on the boards of public bodies falling within her Department's area of responsibility.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 11 July 2013
	This Government is committed to increasing the diversity on public boards and we are taking this forward in a number of different ways.
	Earlier this year the Centre for Public Appointments, based in the Cabinet Office, published its own strategy to increase the diversity of public appointments. And last month the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), hosted a high-level networking event to help to increase the diversity of our boards.
	DCMS aims to attract people from a range of different backgrounds, including from under-represented groups. It also continues to promote vacancies, though new routes, to encourage applications from the broadest range of candidates. The DCMS approach is working; for the year to March 2013 it increased the proportion of women appointed to DCMS boards from 31% to 38% and it is committed to achieving 50%.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many answers by her Department to Parliamentary Questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a link to a website in the last year.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS' IT system does not record answers to parliamentary questions in that format and this information could be extracted only at a disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department follows in determining whether statistics in answers to Parliamentary Questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a link to a website and (c) deposited in the Library.

Hugh Robertson: DCMS follows the guidance provided by the Office of the Leader of the House on the practice of answering parliamentary questions by reference to Government websites. The guidance advises that the answer should give the Member the factual information requested (including supplying paper copies of the website pages), with an additional line in the answer indicating that the information is already made readily available.
	The full Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
	A copy of the guidance relating to referring to websites has already been placed in the Library.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Ethnic Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that there is a diverse pool of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff for Ministers to choose from for their private offices.

Francis Maude: Civil service appointments are made on merit in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles and the Civil Service Management Code. Within the requirement of merit, the civil service is committed to ensuring a diverse pool of staff for roles within departments, including for staff in its private offices.

Community Development: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Big Society community organisers living in Ashfield constituency have been trained to date.

Nick Hurd: To date no community organisers have been trained in Ashfield. I would welcome applications from organisations in Ashfield to become hosts to community organisers. Interested organisations should look here for more information on how to apply:
	http://www.cocollaborative.org.uk/resource/become-host

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on putting cybersecurity on the school curriculum;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase cyber security in further education colleges.

Chloe Smith: The UK Cyber Security Strategy published in November 2011, stresses the importance of building:
	'the UK's cross-cutting knowledge, skills and capability to underpin all the other cyber security objectives by extending knowledge and enhancing skills'.
	The Cabinet Office works with other Government Departments and partners to deliver the NCSP.
	In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
	The Government has worked with various partners to develop cyber security teaching and learning materials aimed at key stage 4 (14 to 16-year-olds). These are available now and those targeted at GCE-A level will be available in the autumn.
	The Government has also worked on developing several different types of apprenticeship scheme including the GCHQ Higher Apprenticeship programme (post A-level) which is heavily subscribed to and an effective employer-led national training partnership for cyber security, with over 80 employers, universities, private providers and colleges, working together to address employer needs.

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 496-7W, on cybercrime, whether the Government has requested or obtained data from (a) Google, (b) Facebook and (c) Microsoft better to understand the online behaviour of different segments of consumers and small to medium sized-enterprises.

Chloe Smith: Further to my answer of 1 July 2013, Official Report, columns 496-7W, on cybercrime, through the National Cyber Security Programme we have funded research into better understanding the online behaviour of different segments of consumers and SMEs through work done by the National Fraud Authority. This segmentation work was conducted through a number of commissioned research studies allowing us to understand the specific vulnerabilities of individuals and SMEs by their attitudes and behaviours when online, and to target them with specific messages, delivered at the right time, through the right channels to make a measurable impact. The research has informed the development of a new cyber security public awareness campaign to be launched later this year.

Employment: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate his Department has made of the net change in the number of people in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey in employment in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the net change in the number of people in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey in employment in each of the last five years. (166303)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	The table shows the number and net change of people employed in Woking constituency and Surrey. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2012 to December 2012 and the 12 month periods ending in December in each year since 2008.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: The net change in the number1 of people employed in Woking constituency and Surrey 
			 Thousand 
			  Woking Surrey 
			 12 months ending December each year: Number of people employed aged 16 and over Net change in employment(1) Number of people employed aged 16 and over Net change in employment(1) 
			 2008 56 n/a 563 n/a 
			 2009 55 -1 551 -12 
			 2010 51 -4 567 17 
			 2011 52 1 564 -4 
			 2012(2) ***55 3 *577 14 
			 (1) The net change is calculated on unrounded figures. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV <5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes

DEFENCE

Air Force: Deployment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what personnel of what rank will work at the Combined Air and Space Operations Centre at Torrejon de Ardoz; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of those personnel being stationed there.

Andrew Murrison: The United Kingdom has been allocated 16 posts in the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejon, which as of 1 December 2012 forms part of the NATO Command Structure. All 16 posts will be filled by Royal Air Force personnel, broken down by rank as follows:
	Three x Wing Commander (OF4)
	Six x Squadron Leader (OF3)
	Three x Flight Lieutenant (OF2)
	One x Warrant Officer (OR9)
	Two x Flight Sergeant (OR7)
	One x Sergeant (OR6).
	Location allowances for 16 personnel stationed in Spain are estimated at £150,000 per annum. Nation-borne support costs are estimated at £395,000 per annum.

Army: Reorganisation

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what training will take place as part of re-establishing the Lead Armour Battlegroup; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of that training;
	(2)  when the Lead Armour Battlegroup will be certified for deployment.

Andrew Robathan: On current plans it is envisaged that the Army will be ready to deploy the Lead Armoured Battlegroup from 2018.
	Training for the Lead Armoured Battlegroup will be developed incrementally in order to deliver the full capability from 2018. At present we envisage Lead Armoured Battlegroup training progressing from individual and team level through troop level to squadron level culminating in an overseas exercise in due course. It is too soon to assess the full cost of the training involved with the Lead Armoured Battlegroup.

Defence: Procurement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Future Maritime Support Delivery Framework to come into force.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with industry with the intention of awarding the Maritime Support Delivery Framework contracts before the end of the current financial year.
	In the meantime, continuity of support to ships and submarines and to the running of Her Majesty's Naval Bases (HMNB) at Devonport, Portsmouth and the Faslane site at HMNB Clyde will be provided under the existing contractual arrangements.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose.

Mark Francois: The Department takes the promotion of equality and diversity (E and D) seriously. All civilian staff are required to undertake on-line training within six months of joining, and facilitated workshops are held regularly for military personnel.
	However, the information requested is not held centrally. To disaggregate the annual spend, and estimate percentages devoted to the promotion of equality and diversity across the Department, would incur disproportionate cost.
	With regard to the number of personnel employed on E&D roles, there is a Head Office team of five people, with smaller teams supporting the individual top level budget holders. Below this level the role of E and D advisor and assistant advisor is an additional duty at unit locations and establishments.

Guided Weapons

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his United States counterpart on the (a) development and (b) export of a Brimstone missile prototype.

Andrew Murrison: The Secretary of State for Defence has had no official discussions with his United States counterpart on either the development or export of Brimstone.

Iceland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met his Icelandic counterpart; and what was discussed at that meeting.

Philip Hammond: I have no direct Icelandic counterpart: although a member of NATO, Iceland has no standing armed forces nor a Ministry of Defence. Iceland is represented by their Permanent Representative to NATO, Thorsteinn Ingolfsson, at meetings of NATO Defence Ministers, and I met him in this capacity at the last meeting in Brussels on 3/4 June 2013. Ambassador Ingolfsson also represented Iceland at a meeting of the Northern Group Defence Ministers which I also attended at that time.

Jordan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's assets are currently based in Jordan.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has 26 personnel based in Jordan.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2013, Official Report, column 779W, on military aircraft, how many aircraft of each type were used to calculate the net book value.

Andrew Murrison: Pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2013, Official Report, column 779W, the number of aircraft used to calculate the current net book value (NBV) of each fleet is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Aircraft Number 
			 Typhoon 104 
			 Hawk T1 126 
			 Hawk T2 28 
			 Tornado 112 
			 Hercules 30 
			 Globemaster 8 
			 Tucano 92 
			 Sentry 6 
			 Shadow 5 
			 King Air 350 4 
		
	
	These numbers only reflect aircraft currently on the asset register; they do not include assets in the course of construction or future deliveries. It should also be noted that the number of aircraft and the total NBV figure cannot be used in conjunction to calculate an accurate NBV per aircraft.

Military Bases: County Down

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to visit Palace Barracks and Kinnegar Barracks in Holywood in North Down constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has no current plans to visit Palace Barracks or Kinnegar Barracks. However, he hopes that he will be able to visit Northern Ireland at some point in the future.

NATO

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets have been assigned to (a) Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, (b) Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, (c) Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 and (d) Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 since 2012; and for how long each asset was assigned to each group.

Andrew Murrison: There have been no Royal Navy ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 or Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 since 2012.
	The Royal Navy Mine Countermeasures Vessels assigned to the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 were HMS Ledbury and HMS Blyth in 2012 and HMS Cattistock and HMS Ledbury in 2013. The period of support is six months per ship.
	In addition, the Royal Navy provides regular contributions to maritime NATO exercises, supports Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean using transiting surface vessels and submarines, and allows other NATO vessels in the Arabian Gulf to refuel using the on station UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tanker.

Surveillance

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what imagery his Department has requested from other signatories of the Open Skies Treaty in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Murrison: There is no record of the Ministry of Defence requesting imagery from other signatories of the Open Skies Treaty.

Warships

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the cannibalisation of Link 16 data systems from Type 22 ships and their installation on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Bay-Class ships.

Andrew Murrison: The cost to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the removal and storage of Link 16 data systems from four Type 22 ships was close to £12,000. The cost to the MOD for the refurbishment, transport, fitting and testing of these systems on three Bay Class ships was approximately £826,000.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many answers by his Department to Parliamentary Questions involving tables of statistics fewer than four pages in length were (a) printed in full and (b) provided via a link to a website in the last year.

Mark Francois: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance his Department follows in determining whether statistics in answers to Parliamentary Questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a link to a website and (c) deposited in the Library.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), on 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 649W, to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson).

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the upholding of humanitarian commitments made by the Government of Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in that region under the peace, security and co-operation framework to date.

Justine Greening: I am deeply concerned by the recent outbreaks of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and call on all armed groups to cease fighting. The UK fully supports the peace framework, and the work of the UN Special Envoy, Mary Robinson. It is important for all signatories to implement the commitments they made in February.

UK-Israeli Co-operation

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK-Israeli co-operation on international development.

Alan Duncan: We work with Israel in international development co-operation forums such as the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation. We do not have any joint international development projects with Israel but would consider any proposals made by MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.

G8 Summit

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the outcomes agreed at the G8 Summit in June 2013 on developing countries.

Justine Greening: Our G8 focused on tax, trade and transparency, alongside the earlier event on nutrition and impact investing. The commitments made will help developing countries to raise revenues from trade, taxes and the sale of natural resources, so that they can fund their own development. The G8 also endorsed the Nutrition for Growth compact which will save 20 million children from stunting by 2020.

Syria

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Justine Greening: The humanitarian situation in Syria is catastrophic. More than 93,000 people have been killed, 6.8 million are in need, and a further 1.75 million refugees are in neighbouring countries. By the end of the year, the UN estimates that 10 million people will be in need of assistance in the region. Lebanon now has over 600,000 refugees that have arrived in a country with a population of just over four million—projected to rise to one million by the end of the year.

Child Labour

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to eradicate child labour.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID’s primary contribution to combating child labour is by working with others to address the underlying conditions that encourage child labour, in particular extreme poverty. DFID also supports action to increase access and availability of primary-level education for children from poor families and provide social protection for many of the most vulnerable children and families.

Fairtrade

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the role of Fairtrade goods in development.

Alan Duncan: DFID supports Fairtrade and assesses its performance on an annual basis. Fairtrade is one way to ensure the supply chain delivers benefits for poor people. Certification ensures producers receive fair prices for their products and workers receive good wages, supporting growth, investment, trade and livelihoods.

Afghanistan

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provides for health-related projects in Helmand province, Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Justine Greening: £260,000 has been allocated from the Conflict Pool—which is jointly managed by DFID, the MOD and FCO—to deliver health programmes in Helmand for 2013-14 via the Provincial Reconstruction Team. In addition, a joint UK and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) programme is providing £1.05 million for health-related projects in Helmand over the same time frame.
	DFID also supports the provision of basic services in Helmand through contributions to the multi-donor Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). Since 2009, the ARTF has provided over £9.4 million to improve primary healthcare services for Helmand's rural poor.

Africa

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information her Department holds on (a) the adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS and (b) the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in (i) Uganda and (ii) Africa in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The most recent report on the Global AIDS Epidemic was published by UNAIDS in 2012. This data is available via:
	www.aidsinfoonline.org
	and shown in the following tables. Regional data are not routinely presented on an annual basis; the UNAIDS Global Report 2012 includes data shown above for Sub-Saharan Africa for 2001 and 2011.
	
		
			 Uganda 
			  Estimated HIV prevalence—Adult (ages 15-49) People living with HIV 
			 Time period Percentage (estimate) Number (estimate) 
			 2002 6.60 980,000.00 
			 2003 6.40 990,000.00 
			 2004 6.40 1,000,000.00 
			 2005 6.40 1,000,000.00 
			 2006 6.40 1,100,000.00 
			 2007 6.60 1,100,000.00 
			 2008 6.70 1,200,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 6.90 1,300,000.00 
			 2010 7.00 1,300,000.00 
			 2011 7.20 1,400,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Sub-Saharan Africa 
			  Estimated HIV prevalence—Adult (ages 15-49) People living with HIV 
			 Time period Percentage (estimate) Number (estimate) 
			 2001 5.90 20.9 million 
			 2011 4.90 23.5 million 
		
	
	The UK remains committed to the vision of getting to zero—zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. Recent advances in treatment and prevention make this ever more possible.

Africa

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in (a) Uganda and (b) Africa in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: Between 2006 and 2010 DFID provided £7.2 million through its HIV/AIDS programme in Uganda with a focus on behavioural change efforts to reduce HIV transmission and to support the development of a National HIV Prevention Strategy. DFID is currently providing £16.3 million over four years (2011-14) to improve the effectiveness of Uganda's HIV/AIDS prevention response. Because of the importance of continued research in the fight against HIV/AIDS, DFID is supporting collaborations between UK and Ugandan scientists to test new interventions aimed at reducing new infections, including through the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative which has set up laboratories in Uganda.
	In Southern Africa, DFID spent £28 million between 2008 and 2011 on a regional programme for HIV prevention through social and behaviour change. In 2012-13 DFID developed four new HIV prevention programmes in sub-Saharan Africa (Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and southern Africa Regional). These new programmes will contribute to reducing by at least 500,000 new HIV infections among women in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015. A new regional programme (launched by the PUSS on 8 July) will generate better evidence on successful HIV interventions, focusing on two vulnerable populations, including adolescents.
	The UK continues to be a major donor to the Global Fund for Tuberculosis, HIV and Malaria which provides major funding for HIV prevention, treatment and care across Africa, including approximately 40% of the funding for Uganda's HIV response.

Developing Countries: Discrimination

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on restricting aid to nations that promote and maintain policies and practices that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK recognises that human rights underpin sustainable development. DFID’s partnership principles require that before providing direct support to Governments, we assess their shared commitment to respecting the human rights of citizens, including the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
	Where we have specific concerns about a government’s failure to protect its citizens’ rights we raise these at the highest levels of the government concerned. We may judge that specific human rights concerns are sufficiently serious to merit a suspension of our aid to that government. However, our priority will be to ensure that the interests of poor people are protected, and groups are not exposed to further risk as a result of UK action.

Developing Countries: Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes her Department funds to support the training of teachers in the developing world.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government recognises the centrality of teachers to learning, and invests in improving teaching practice across its education programmes. This includes supporting the provision of sufficient numbers of skilled teachers who are motivated to turn up on time, can act as role models and use teaching techniques based on the best available evidence of what works to improve learning. The 2013 DFID annual report shows that the UK has helped to train 99,000 teachers in poor countries since 2010.

Developing Countries: Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all children everywhere will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.

Lynne Featherstone: As the largest bilateral donor to basic education, the UK is playing its part to ensure that all children everywhere will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.
	DFID's 2013 Annual Report shows that the UK is supporting over 5.8 million children in primary education (2.8 million girls) and 570,000 in lower secondary education in developing countries. The UK has also helped to train 99,000 teachers. Over the spending review period the UK has pledged to support 9 million children in primary school, over half of whom will be girls, and 2 million in lower secondary education.
	In addition, up to 1 million more of the world's poorest girls will be supported to complete their education through the Girls' Education Challenge (GEC). The GEC is encouraging innovation in the non-state sector to find new ways to reach girls in marginalised communities.

Developing Countries: Education

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to help children and young people in conflict areas who are out of school access some form of education.

Alan Duncan: Around half of DFID's annual bilateral aid for education is in fragile and conflict affected states. Where possible, we work with Governments of those countries to re-open schools and pay teacher salaries to ensure that children can secure good quality education. Where this is not possible we work through humanitarian agencies to guarantee safe learning spaces, particularly for girls.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what (a) new and (b) additional resources in respect of the pledge made by her predecessor at the family planning summit of June 2012 have been programmed for the provision of such services;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the plan for expenditure in the next two years in support of her Department's family planning initiative announced in June 2012.

Alan Duncan: At the London Summit on Family Planning in July 2012, the UK announced its commitment to double its efforts on family planning, from an average of £90 million per year to an average of £180 million per year (equivalent to an additional £516 million over eight years) towards achieving the Summit goal.
	The Department's plans for delivering results and measuring progress against health programmes up to 2015 are laid out in a series of Operational Plans. These are available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/series/operational-plans-2013
	In addition, the Department is exploring new partnerships with multilateral partners, civil society and the private sector to deliver the family planning results that we want to achieve. As specific programmes are approved, they will be made publically available via the DFID website, alongside annual reviews of progress.

Developing Countries: Forests

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of the new £969 million funding for climate change projects in developing countries is planned to support reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Lynne Featherstone: No decision has yet been taken on what proportion of the new funding for climate change projects in developing countries will be used to tackle deforestation and reduce forest degradation. The funding will be shared between DFID, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and discussions will take place between these Departments in the coming months.

Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by her Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by her Department for this purpose.

Alan Duncan: Prior to April DFID had two full-time HR personnel responsible for diversity and equality and one who worked part-time.These two jobs have now finished and have been replaced by a single equality and diversity post for a duration of six months.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of FTE staff Staff costs (£000)(1) Total costs (£000) 
			 2010-11 2.50 136.4 148.0 
			 2011-12 2.75 146.9 149.9 
			 2012-13 2.66 157.4 160.6 
			 (1) Includes all salary related, travel and training costs.

Grant Thornton

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008.

Alan Duncan: DFID's expenditure on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008 Nil 
			 2009 Nil 
			 2010 Nil 
			 2011 Nil 
			 2012 17,588 
			 2013 2,678

Himalayas

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of British support for the Great Himalaya Trail; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: In many remote and mountainous areas in Nepal, tourism and trekking offer the only viable opportunity for poor people and local communities to build livelihoods, establish small businesses and generate employment. Since 2011, the UK has been working with the Government of Nepal and the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) to help support the Great Himalayan Trail Development Programme. The programme aims to develop the fuller potential of the tourism market and to physically link up trekking trails and facilities right across Nepal's Himalayan range, including in less popular or visited regions.
	UK support has helped to: establish the Great Himalayan Trail brand so that it is now being actively promoted by major international airlines and tour operators; directly support around 750 small businesses with management skills training; and promote environmentally friendly infrastructure and practices. The UK will continue to support the Programme in order to bring sustainable economic benefits to some of the poorest regions of Nepal.

Malawi

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which education programmes her Department is supporting in Malawi.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports the Malawi Government's education sector plan aimed at reforming the sector and ensuring more children are completing primary education and are able to read and write. Since 2010, UK Government funding has helped build 1,200 classrooms, train 4,500 teachers with an additional 10,000 in training and enabled 8,700 girls to enter secondary school through the provision of bursaries. By 2016, UK support will have provided over 200,000 girls in upper primary with cash transfers to complete primary school by addressing the financial challenges that cause girls to drop out of school. It will also provide access to improved sanitation facilities for up to 100,000 secondary school girls and set up a system in schools that will help tackle the pervasive sexual abuse of girls in school.
	DFID is also co-funding with the Malawi Government the construction of a Teacher Training College in Phalombe district with one of the highest pupil/teacher ratios in the country. The college, once finished, will graduate 300 new teachers per year, 50% of which will be women.

Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department provides services to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not provide services specifically to people resident, or usually resident, in Wales.

Welsh Language

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has a current Welsh Language scheme; when that scheme was adopted; and whether it has been reviewed since May 2011.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have a Welsh Language scheme.